Effect of extruded amaranth grains on performance, egg traits, fatty acids composition, and selected blood characteristics of laying hens

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of extruded amaranth grains (AMG) in laying hen diets on performance, egg traits, egg yolk fatty acids composition, as well as selected blood characteristics. A total of 60 Lohmann Brown laying hens, 24 wk of age, were randomly distributed into 3 dietary treatments and fed for 10 wk. The AMG was used at the levels of 0%, 5%, and 10% in the diets of the control and 2 treatment groups, respectively. Each dietary treatment was divided into 4 replicates, comprising of 5 hens each. Hens were housed in a 3-tier battery system. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Blood samples and eggs were collected after 5 wk and at the end of the experiment. Amaranth grain supplementation increased body weight (1.64, 1.66, and 1.72 kg for diets containing 0%, 5%, and 10% AMG, respectively; linear, P P P =0.01–0.03) by increasing AMG supplementation. The quadratic effect on alanine aminotransferase at wk 5 ( P =0.02) and 10 ( P