Hatice  Kaya, Adem  Kaya, Mehmet  Gul, Saban  Celebi, 
    The Effect of Zeolite and Organic Acid Mixture Supplementation in the Layer 
  Diet on Performance, Egg Quality Traits and Some Blood Parameters,
    Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances,
    Volume 12,Issue 6,
    2013,
    Pages 782-787,
    ISSN 1680-5593,
    javaa.2013.782.787,
    (https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2013.782.787)
    Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of zeolite, 
  organic acid mixture and the combination of zeolite and organic acid mixture 
  supplementation in a layer diet on performance, egg quality traits and some 
  blood parameters. The experiment was carried out with a total of 96 Lohman White 
  commercial hens 44 weeks of age in 6 replicate cages with each cage containing 
  4 hens who were allocated randomly to one of four dietary treatments. The hens 
  were fed a basal diet (C), a basal diet plus 20 g kg<SUP>-1</SUP> zeolite (Z), 
  a basal diet plus 2 g kg<SUP>-1</SUP> organic acid mixture (consisting of 70% 
  propionic acid, 5% citric acid and 25% soft acid) (OA) and a basal diet plus 
  20 g kg<SUP>-1</SUP> Zeolite and 2 g kg<SUP>-1</SUP> Organic Acid mixture (ZOA). 
  Feed intake, egg production, egg weight, feed conversion ratio and body weight 
  did not statistically differ amoung the groups (p&gt;0.05). Supplementing the 
  basal diet with OA and ZOA significantly increased eggshell strength and weight. 
  Eggshell strength was also higher on average in hens on the ZOA diets than those 
  receiving OA. All of the additive treatments significantly increased eggshell 
  thickness compared with that of the control group. Dietary treatment reduced 
  serum albumin, glucose, ALP, AST and Ca contents compared with the control group 
  (p&lt;0.05). But treatment did not affect serum cholesterol, total protein and 
  p levels. It can be concluded that the addition of organic acid mixture and 
  zeolite combinations to layer diets can be beneficial in improving egg quality 
  traits, especially shell strength and thickness.
    Keywords: Laying hens;zeolite;organic acid;performance;egg quality traits;blood parameters