The effects of chromium microadditive in different diets for laying hens (Gallus gallus L.) on the intestinal digestion and certain biochemical blood parameters

Cromium (Cr) is a biogenic element necessary for normal growth and development in animals and poultry. Cr regulates the synthesis of fats, carbohydrate exchange, and circulatory glucose concentration. Cr additives in the diets were reported to affect growth efficiency positively in broiler chicks (I.Z. Gubaydulina et al., 2018); supplementation of diets with Cr nanoparticles (100-200 ppb) stimulated mineral exchange in broilers. With the lack of the research related to the effects of Cr microadditives on the digestion in animals and the absence of the studies on animals with chronic intestinal fistulae, the aim of our study was to investigate the effects of Cr microadditive (100 ppb) as nanoparticles in different wheat-based diets for laying hens (with soybean cake or sunflower cake as main protein sources) on the intestinal digestion and certain biochemical blood parameters. The trial was performed on Hisex White chicken ( Gallus gallus L.) (10-12 months of age, 5 birds per treatment, diet shifts in 7-10 day periods) with chronic duodenal fistulae...