Effect of Royal Jelly on behavioural patterns, feather quality, egg quality and some haematological parameters in laying hens at the late stage of production.

The aim was to elucidate the impact of Royal Jelly (RJ) on behavioural patterns, feather cover, egg quality and some blood haematological indices in laying hens (58-64 weeks of age). A total of 108 Tetra Brown laying hens were used in the current trial. The birds were divided into three equal groups (36 birds each). The pure RJ was prepared for immediate injection subcutaneously, as follows: the first treated group (RJ1 :100 mg/kg); the second treated group (RJ2 :200 mg/kg); the control group. The eating and drinking activities in the RJ2 group were significantly (p = .009 and .015 respectively) higher than the control and RJ1 groups. Furthermore, the aggressive pecks, feather pecks and threating behaviour in the RJ2 group were significantly (p = .005, .001 and .039 respectively) lower than the control and RJ1 groups. Both RJ-treated groups had the best feather cover on the neck and abdomen regions (p = .010 and .001 respectively; Figure ). Both RJ-treated groups had a significantly higher eggshell ratio (p = .019) and shell thickness (p = .001) in comparison with the control group. The albumen height, Haugh units and yolk index in both RJ-treated groups were significantly greater than those recorded in the control group (p = .026, .001 and .022 respectively). The erythrocyte and total leucocyte counts in the RJ2 group were significantly higher than those reported in the control and RJ1 groups (p = .029 and .013 respectively); however, the heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio and heterophil % in both RJ-treated groups were significantly the lowest (p = .001 and .039). In conclusion, birds in the RJ2 group had superior feather cover, welfare and behavioural indices, probably due to the impact of active flavonoids components of RJ on laying hen performance. Furthermore, the RJ-treated groups had significantly improved egg quality parameters and some blood haematological indices.