Vitamin C is an important nutritional factor for laying hen’s performance and egg quality. It is required to maintain normal body metabolic activities and to meet physiological requirements. It can exhibit anti oxidative or pro – oxidative effects.
Generally, poultry are able to synthesis vitamin C, but this synthesis is thought to be inadequate during times of heat stress, disease and intensive production. The poultry are subjected to considerable stress such as rapid growth rate, hot or cold temperatures and diseases that can affect performances. Vitamin C reduces the synthesis of corticosteroid hormones in birds and alleviates the negative effects of stress. In terms of egg characteristics, eggshell quality is a major factor, which is ameliorated by vitamin C utilization. Vitamin C stimulates 1,25 dihydroxy cholecalciferol and increases calcium mobilization from bone, suggesting that it has an important function in eggshell formation and quality. Capability of hens to produce shells depends essentially on the availability of calcium from bones. Vitamin C increases calcium absorption or development of bone tissue and may play some role in improving bone properties. It has been also found that vitamin C supplementation reduces calcium excretion in low ambient temperature and could reduce shell defects and improve shell quality.
Vitamin C or ascorbic acid can improve the performance of laying hens in a number of ways:
- Improved performance
Vitamin C supplementation can improve the productive performance of laying hens raised in normal temperatures. It can also help hens under heat stress conditions improve their performance, egg production, egg weight, and egg shell thickness.
- Improved egg characteristics
Vitamin C supplementation can improve some egg characteristics, such as yolk height, shape index, and yolk index. It can also decrease plasma uric acid.
- Reduced stress
Vitamin C can help reduce stress and stress-induced problems, such as poor immunity, reduced feed intake, poor weight gain, oxidative stress, and mortality. It can also alleviate chronic heat stress in laying hens by reducing acid-base imbalance in body fluids and oxidative damage and inflammatory response in the liver.
Benefits of Vitamin C on Poultry health
- It has antioxidant properties that help protect cells and tissues from damage, which can improve poultry’s overall health and resilience.
- Vitamin C can also help poultry fight the effects of heat stress, and can be used as a therapeutic feed additive to improve poultry productivity. It can also help with acid-base imbalances in the body fluids of laying hens, and oxidative damage and inflammation in the liver.
- Vitamin C can boost poultry’s immune system, making them more resistant to disease. It can also help with stress-induced problems like poor immunity, reduced feed intake, and poor weight gain.
- Vitamin C can increase plasma calcium levels, which can improve eggshell formation. It can also enhance egg production and egg shell quality.
- Vitamin C can contribute to faster growth rates in poultry, which is important for meat and egg production.
