Effect of Supplementation of Organic Selenium on Physiological and Production Parameters of Ghagus hens during the Early Laying Period

Trace mineral organic selenium is known to increase egg production significantly in exotic breeds. The present study was conducted with the Ghagus native hen breed to observe the effect of organic-selenium-enriched yeast on body weight, plasma hormones, and expression of genes that influence egg production. The control (C) group was offered a corn and soybean-based basal feed without organic selenium supplementation. The other two treatment groups (T1 and T2) were offered 0.2 and 0.4 ppm of organic selenium, respectively. The results indicated that, in T1, plasma levels of ghrelin and melatonin increased (p<0.05), while progesterone levels decreased significantly (p<0.05); furthermore, the expression of melatonin, and ghrelin hormone receptors in jejunum and magnum tissues also increased (p<0.001). When compared to C and T2, the fold change expression of all amino acid transporters increased (p<0.001) in jejunum tissue, whereas in magnum tissue, the expression of only three transporters (CAT, LAT2, and LAT4) increased (p<0.001) in T1. Treatment of chickens with 0.2 ppm also increased egg production by 6±1%, and egg weight by 3± 0.5g. The study indicated that there is potential for increases in egg production in Ghagus hens with the supplementation of organic selenium during the early laying period.

Keywords:
Early laying period; egg; Ghagus; gene expression; hormones; organic selenium