Effects of High Fiber Ingredients with Enzyme/Phytoadditive Addition on Laying Hens Productive Performances, Egg Nutritional Quality and Intestinal Morphology

Abstract

Fibre inclusion in laying hen diets it is considered a solution to reduce feed formulation costs by improving nutrients absorption and metabolization within the gastrointestinal tract. A 5-wk study was conducted on 200, Tetra SL layers (28 weeks) randomly allocated in 5 groups (C, E1, E2, E3, E4, respectively), with initial average weights of 1732.26±109.35 g/hen, housed (4 hens/cage; 10 cages/group; 40 hens/group). All groups had the same basic feed compound structure (corn, oil, soybean meal and sunflower meal). The conventional diet (C group) contained 2780 kcal/kg Metabolizable energy (ME); 17.5% Crude protein (CP); 4.39% Crude fibre (CF). The experimental diets added 16.56% sunflower meal and 20% rice bran, increasing the dietary cellulose up to 7%. The fibre digestibility was improved using on E2 (0.015% enzyme); E3 (0.015% phytoadditive) and E4 (0.015% enzyme + 0.015% phytoadditive). The high fibre diets had no negative impact on productive performances and egg quality parameters. Yolk cholesterol significantly decreased (P<0.05) on E1, E3 and E4 groups compared to C, E2 groups. Villi height increased significantly (P<0.05) on E2 group compared to all other groups. In conclusion, the high dietary crude fibre (7%), additional enzymes/phyto additives, can improve the nutrient digestibility and intestinal morphology with beneficial effects on health and egg quality.