Effects of Clostridium butyricum on production performance and intestinal absorption function of laying hens in the late phase of production

Abstract

Laying hens in the late phase of production were characterized by the compromises of production performance and absorption capacity. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of supplemental Clostridium butyricum on production performance and intestinal absorption function of laying hens in the late phase of production. A total of 384 59-week-old Hy-Line Brown layers were randomly divided into 4 groups that consisted of 8 replicates with 12 birds each. Birds were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 0.3, 0.9 or 2.7 g/kg C. butyricum (the actual bacterial count was 9.3 × 108 colony-forming unit (CFU)/g). The experiment lasted for 8 weeks after a 1-week adaptation period. Results showed that increasing C. butyricum addition resulted in a quadratic reduction (P < 0.05) of feed conversion ratio of layers from weeks 5 to 8 and from weeks 1 to 8, concurrent with quadratic elevations (P < 0.05) in yolk color, ileal villus height, ileal lipase and alkaline phosphatase activities of layers at the end of week 8. These responses were maximized at medium dose (0.9 g/kg) of C. butyricum addition. Furthermore, there were quadratic increases (P < 0.05) in ileal adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level and sodium-potassium ATPase activity, along with the relative mRNA expression of ileal L-type amino acid transporter-1 and fatty acid-binding protein-1 of layers at the end of week 8 due to the increase of C. butyricum addition, with 0.9 g/kg being the most effective. In conclusion, dietary C. butyricum supplementation could improve feed efficiency and yolk color of laying hens in the late phase of production probably through the promotion of intestinal absorption function. The optimal dose of C. butyricum in layer diet in the present study was 0.9 g/kg (8.37 × 108 CFU/kg).