Dietary Inclusion of Kulitis (Amaranthus viridis) to Enhance Laying Hens’ Egg Quality

Philippine poultry manufacturers choose selectively bred hens over native hens in commercial egg-laying operations due to the native hens’ lower egg production and lower egg weights. As such, it was decided to ascertain whether including 15% Kulitis (Amaranthus viridis) leaves in the hen diet can enhance egg quality, specifically overall egg weight, yolk color, and eggshell thickness. Two 26-week-old Darag hens weighing 1 kg were selected and fed standard feed (untreated hen) and Kulitis-infused feed pellets (treated hen) for 21 days. Water was given ad libitum. The first five eggs laid by each hen were collected and evaluated for overall egg weight and eggshell thickness, and the colors of the yolks were labeled utilizing the DSM Yolk Color Fan’s hex color codes and their corresponding DSM values (1-16). Independent Samples T-test showed that the Kulitis-infused feed pellets increased egg weight and darkened the yolk color significantly (P\u3c0.05), while eggshell thickness was not significantly affected (P\u3e0.05). Overall, Kulitis-infused feed pellets enhanced overall egg weight and yolk color without affecting eggshell thickness