| ABSTRACT Water lentils (Duckweed [DW])(Lemna gibba), in irrigation ponds, was evaluated by replacing two levels of soybean meal (SBM) on performance and egg quality of laying hens of 54 weeks of age. A total of 72 white Lohmann laying hens were randomly allocated into 3 treatments with 6 replicates/treatment, 4 hens/replicate in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were: control group (DW0%) with (SBM) as the main source of protein, T1 (DW10%) and T2 (DW20%), where duckweed replaced 10% and 20% of SBM for 9 weeks. No significant differences were observed among the dietary treatments in body weight change, feed conversion ratio, egg weight and mortality rate. Replacement with (DW20%) decreased (p<0.05) feed intake, egg laying rate and egg mass.... |
