Effects of dietary Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bacillus subtilis on laying performance, egg quality, blood biochemistry and immune response of organic laying hens

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different probiotic micro-organisms on the performance, egg quality and blood parameters of organically reared hens. A total of 900 16-week-old Hy-Line layer hybrids were randomly assigned to three groups of 300 birds each. The control (CTR) group was fed a corn-soya bean cake-based diet; the L group was fed the same diet supplemented with 0.1% Lactobacillus acidophilus, while the B group was fed the same diet supplemented with 0.05% Bacillus subtilis. Data were recorded at the beginning (weeks 5 and 6: T1) and at the end (weeks 19 and 20: T2) of the experiment, and no differences in hen performance were recorded between dietary groups or sampling times. All of the investigated clinical chemistry parameters, except GGT, were affected by diet (p < 0.05), with the best results recorded for the probiotic-treated groups. The immune-response values showed higher blood bactericidal activity in the B and L groups at T2 (p < 0.05) and a lower lysozime concentration in the B group at T1. Higher antibody production against Newcastle disease virus was observed in the L group compared to the CTR (p = 0.013). No differences in oxidative status were recorded, and no effects of diet on egg quality were observed. Among the physical egg characteristics, only the Roche scale colour was affected by diet (p < 0.05): the egg yolk was paler in the L group. The age of the hen was the most relevant factor affecting physical egg characteristics. The chemical parameters of the egg were almost unaffected by supplementation with probiotics except for the lipid content, which decreased with the L diet (p < 0.05). Both probiotic inclusions had beneficial effects on hen metabolism and welfare, and L. acidophilus induced the best immune response.

Comparison of the Dietary Supplementation of Lactobacillus plantarum, and Fermented and Non-Fermented Artemisia Annua on the Performance, Egg Quality, Serum Cholesterol, and Eggyolk-Oxidative Stability During Storage in Laying Hens

“…The present study compared the effects of LO, NFA, and FA supplementation in layer diets. No significant differences in laying performance and egg quality were found by LO addition compared with the CON group, which is consistent with a previous study (Forte et al, 2016). The dietary inclusion of NFA and FA significantly increased the egg weight.…”

“…Probiotics are also well-studied feed additives, with reported benefits on laying performance, egg quality, and immune response of laying hens (Zhang et al, 2012;Forte et al, 2016;Abd et al, 2017;Mazanko et al, 2018). Lactobacillus plantarum is one of the most common probiotic strains, and possesses strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activities (Tsai et al, 2012;Niu et al, 2018).…”

Effects of Bacillus subtilis C‐3102 on production, hatching performance, egg quality, serum antioxidant capacity and immune response of laying breeders

“…Guo, Dong, Liu, and Tong () found that dietary supplementation with BS did not significantly influence on the egg production, egg weight and feed intake of 28‐week‐old Hy‐Line laying hens. Forte et al () reported that the effects of supplementation with 0.1% Lactobacillus acidophilus and 0.05% BS on the performance of 16‐week‐old Hy‐Line laying hens and found no differences among the different groups. We assumed that the variation in the results of the aforementioned studies can be ascribed to several factors, including the dose of Bacillus species, the age of the animals, feed form, diet composition and hygiene status.…”

Effects of inoculation route and dose on production and avidity of IgY antibodies

“…Another important factor is nutrition. Several nutrients have an influence on the production of antibodies because they provide essential elements for the immune response (Du et al, 2016;Forte et al, 2016;Perween et al, 2016). One of the most important factors for the production of antibodies is the use of adjuvants.…”