Abstract:
A 112 days feeding trial was conducted to examine the folliculogenesis, reproductive morphometry and hormonal profiles of laying hens fed diets supplemented with monosodium glutamate (MSG). A total of 144 point of lay (POL) pullets was used for the experiment and the pullets were placed on a commercial layer mash until they have reached 20% laying performance before being subjected to the experimental diets. There were six inclusion levels of MSG treatments at 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 g/kg in the diets designated as Treatments A, B, C, D, E and F respectively. Each treatment was replicated four (4) times with six (6) birds per replicate. Feed consumption and weight gain were recorded while feed conversion ratio (FCR) was estimated at the end of the experiment. The live weights of birds were also recorded at the last week of the experiment. Eggs were collected weekly per replicate and taken to laboratory for egg quality determination. At the end of the experimental period, birds were randomly selected from each replicate and sacrificed, ovary were excised and weighed. The entire reproductive tracts of the slaughtered and eviscerated birds were removed and examined. The results from the study revealed that there were significant (p<0.05) differences observed in all hormones assayed. It was also observed from the results that birds fed on 0.25 g/kg MSG diet had least cortisol level thereby reduced the stress level. Supplementation of monosodium glutamate up to 0.75 g/kg diet greatly improved the folliculogenesis, reproductive and hormonal profiles of laying hens. Another observation of interest was the increase in length of uterus in birds fed on 0.25g/kg MSG diet. It was therefore concluded that inclusion of dietary monosodium glutamate (MSG) up to 0.50g/kg diet optimally enhanced the folliculogenesis morphometric and hormonal profile of laying hens as there was no significant deleterious effects on the hormonal responses and reproductive performance of the birds fed with the experimental diet
