标题：Vegetable ( Telfairia occidentalis ) Leaf Meal as Dietary Protein Supplement in Laying Hens: Egg Laying Performance, Egg Quality and Heamatological Implications
摘要：The objective of this study was to investigate by evaluating the bio-nutritional potency of leaf meal prepared from Telfairia occidentalis as a protein supplement in laying hens . An experiment was carried out with Hy-line Variety Brown layer birds beginning at the first phase of egg lay spanning a period of 3 months. Four isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets were formulated in which the major difference was the percentage inclusion levels of the Telfairia occidentalis leaf meal (TOLM) at 0, 10, 15, 20% in diets 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) in the body weight changes, egg weight, albumen height and shell thickness. The mean egg weight values ranged between 63.20±1.85 and 66.55±3.14 g while albumen height ranged between 4.97±0.26 and 5.30±1.07 mm. The shell thickness also ranged from 0.47±0.09 to 0.52±0.08 mm. However, the yolk colour scores showed significant differences (p 0.05). The hen day production of hens on diet 3 (15% TOLM inclusion) was consistently higher than others at an average of 63.54±7.38%. Hematological investigation did not reveal any deleterious effects on the performance and no physical health hazards were observed in all experimental hens. It is evident that TOLM if well prepared could be a potential source of plant protein particularly at 15% inclusion level in poultry layer diets.
