THE EFFECT OF FEEDING THREE PEARL MILLET CULTIVARS ON PERFORMANCE OF LAYING HENS AND THYROID GLAND HISTOLOGY

Abstract

The effect of feeding millet cultivars on performance or egg quality characteristics, relative thyroid gland weight and thyroid gland histology were investigated on sixty 23 weeks old Bovan hens in random design. The laying hens were raised in battery cages. Fives dietary treatments were used based on sorghum, maize or one of the millet cultivar Darmsa, Dembi and Bioda.

Results revealed a significant (P<0.01) increase on egg production rate of the hens fed the three millet cultivars compared to feeding sorghum or maize. Shell thickness tended to increase (P<0.01) in the hens fed the millet diets. A significant (P <0.01) increase was observed in the relative thyroid gland weight and the follicular epithelial cell were flatten of the hen fed the three millet cultivars. These results showed that peal millet can be used in the diet of laying hens without any adverse effect on hen performance or egg quality and the effect on thyroid histology is cultivar dependent.