Assessing bone mineral density, eggshell characteristics and their relationship at peak egg production of laying hens in response to various levels of vitamin C

in this study, the effects of the inclusion of different vitamin c levels in the diet on bone mineral density (bmd) and eggshell quality was determined. four experimental diets with four levels of vitamin c (0, 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg) were used. during the experiment, environmental temperature and humidity were 19±1°c and 55±5% respectively. correlation coefficients of bmd index and shell characteristics with production parameters were also determined. egg weight, egg mass, hen-day egg production and eggshell quality were not significantly influenced by vitamin c levels. bmd was not affected by vitamin c utilization. a positive correlation was observed between bmd and egg weight and hen-day egg production. a significant positive correlation between specific gravity and eggshell traits was also found. in conclusion, the results of this study have shown that vitamin c does not affect bone mineral density and eggshell quality under lower critical temperature.