EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTAL BIOTIN ON YOLK, ALBUMEN AND EXTERNAL QUALITY PARAMETERS OF NOILER HEN EGGS

Abstract

The study was carried out to evaluate the effects of supplemental biotin on yolk, albumen and external quality parameters of Noiler hen eggs. A total of one hundred and twenty Noiler hens were purchased from the bauchi state agricultural development project, they were housed in the poultry unit of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching and Research Farm and were further designated into five treatments with each treatment having 24 hens. Five graded levels of supplemental biotin (0.00, 0.50, 1.00, 1.50, 2.00g) were administered to each treatment in drinking water. The results for yolk quality parameters indicate that there was significant difference (p<0.05) among different levels of biotin tested, it was also deduced that treatment 4 with biotin level of 2.0g performed best, which was closely followed by treatment three with biotin level of 1.5g. The results also shows that albumen quality was significantly affected (p<0.05) by treatment 4 (2.0g) which had the highest influence on the parameters. Results for effects of biotin on external egg quality parameters indicates that there was significant difference (p<0.05) among the treatments with treatment 4 (2.0g) showing superior performance. From the results of this research it was concluded that biotin improved the performance of Noiler hens in all parameters studied. Therefore it is recommended that supplemental biotin should be administered at either 1.5g or 2.0g. Further research is also recommended so as to widen the use of biotin in poultry science.