Ulvan extracted from green seaweeds as new natural additives in diets for laying hens

Ulvan extracted from the green seaweed Ulva was added in laying hen diets. The effect of ulvan on laying performance, egg quality, immunity function, and antioxidant capacity was evaluated using Hy-Line Brown hens. Six groups of birds (n = 864, 61 weeks old) were fed on the basal diet containing ulvan at 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 0.8, and 1% for 8 weeks. The results were compared with the control group. Ulvan at concentrations of 0.1 to 1% can significantly improve the egg production (P