Current study was performed to determine the impacts of supplementing different levels of Eruca sativa seeds (ESs) in the basal diet of laying hens on embryonic development, hatchability (%), chick quality and some physiological status of Sliver Sabahia chickens strain. A total of 300 laying chickens and 40 cocks aged 30 week were housed individually in single cages and distributed randomly to 4 treatment groups (75 females and 10 males per each). Laying hens were fed different experimental four diets groups. The first diet as control group, while 2nd , 3rd and 4th group had fed the basal diet supplemented with 1.0 , 2.0 and 3.0 % ESs/kg diet, respectively. At 32 wks of age, hens were artificially inseminated twice a week with semen from cocks received the control diet. Eggs were daily collected from each group for 7 days at 34, 36 and 38 wks of age. A total of one thousand hatching eggs (250 egg per each treatment) representing the 4 experimental groups were incubated. The acquired results indicated that adding ESs at a level of 2.0 % or 3.0 % to the basal diet significantly (P≤ 0.01) reduced egg weight loss (%) during 0-18 days of incubation , as well as the relative yolk sac weight, embryonic mortality , and pipped egg (%). Meanwhile, it significantly increased embryonic weight (%), hatchability (%), and quality of the hatched chicks. Additionally, it led to improved most blood parameters values for hatched chicks and lower plasma cholesterol and malondialdehyde, besides higher concentration of total antioxidant. This improvement in all the mentioned parameters was observed to be proportional to the increase in ESs levels in the diet, with the 3.0 % level being the most beneficial , followed by 2.0 %.
In conclusion, the data suggested that maternal dietary supplementation with 2.0 % or 3.0 % ESs was more effective nutritional tool to improve embryonic development, achieve the best hatchability and obtain chicks with good and health specification.