Changes in some blood parameters and production performance of old laying hens due to growth hormone and testosterone injection.

The experiment was designed to study the changes in some blood parameters and production performance of old laying hens after injection of different doses of growth hormone (GH) and testosterone (Ts). A total of 160 old laying hens (HyLine W-36) at 73 weeks of age were weighed individually and randomly allocated to four treatments with four replicates and 10 birds in each replicate in a completely randomized design. Growth hormone and Ts hormones were injected subcutaneously. Treatment groups were as follows: treatment 1: injection of 100 μl distiled water (control group), treatment 2: injection of 500 μg Ts/kg live-weight + 50 μgGH/kg live-weight, treatment 3: injection of 500 μgTs/kg live-weight + 100 μgGH/kg live-weight and treatment 4: injection of 500 μgTs/kg live-weight + 150 μgGH/kg live-weight. Plasma levels of oestradiol, T4 , LDL, HDL and cholesterol significantly increased in treatment 3 in relation to the control group. All injected hens showed significantly higher levels of glucose in relation to control group. The results showed the positive effects of GH and Ts administration on production performance and blood parameters which are associated with egg production potentiality and in turn may improve reproductivity (egg production) in old laying hens. The positive results of the study may be useful in animal selection and breeding programmes. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition