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Abstract The study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids (FA) on performance and egg yolk chemical composition and FA profile in laying hens. 30 weeks of age, 30 laying hens were assigned randomly to 2 dietary treatments; each of 3 replicates (5 hens per replicate). On a daily basis, eggs were collected and counted to calculate egg production (%) and weighed to calculate feed conversion ratio and egg mass. The fatty acids composition of egg yolk was determined in the last week of the experiment. A dietary n-6 to n-3 of 5:1 resulted in significantly higher egg production (76.89 versus 67.23%), greater egg mass (42.46 versus 37. 72 g) and lower feed conversion ratio (2.49 versus 2.72) than the control diet. Also, increasing the dietary EPA and DHA was reflected in increasing of total polyunsaturated and n-3 FA in the eggs of laying hens. Moreover, reducing the ratio of n-6 to n-3 FA to 5:1 decreased egg triglycerides, total cholesterol and cholesterol. |