Abstract

Brown algae, such as Sargassum binderi (S. binderi), are abundantly present in marine ecosystems and constitute a valuable natural resource. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of fermented S. binderi meal on the performance of laying hens and egg quality, as well as to establish the safe limits of its usage in the diet of laying hens. The 200 Isa Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to five different treatment groups based on fermented S. binderi levels, including the control group, which received 0% fermented S. binderi, while the other treatment groups received 4%, 8%, 12%, and 16% fermented S. binderi, respectively, over six weeks. At the end of the experiment, 80 eggs were assessed for quality. The variables included feed intake, hen day egg production, egg weight, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio, as well as external egg quality measures such as eggshell weight, percentage of eggshell, eggshell thickness, eggshell strength, egg length, egg width, and egg shape index and internal egg quality parameters including yolk weight, percentage of yolk, albumin weight, percentage of albumin, yolk color index, and haugh unit (HU). The current results indicated that the inclusion of fermented S. binderi at levels of 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16% in laying hens’ diets had no significant effect on performance or external and internal egg quality. The utilization of fermented S. binderi is considered safe when incorporated at levels up to 16% within diets for laying hens.