Effects of Bacillus coagulans fermented feed on production performance,egg quality,serum biochemical indicators,and intestinal flora of laying hens in late laying period

MO Wenzhan; XIONG Biao; SU Jiangwei; ZHOU Bowu; GU Zuhua; CHEN Guohuo; DENG Shensong; ZHONG Qiang

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.06.011

Abstract：The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of Bacillus coagulans fermented feed on the egg production performance,egg quality,serum biochemical indicators,and intestinal flora of laying hens in the late laying period.A total of 480 Hyline brown laying hens,aged 55 weeks with similar body condition and egg production rates,were randomly divided into four groups,with six replicates per group and 20 laying hens in the late laying period per replicate.The control group(group A)was fed with unfermented basal feed,while the experimental groups B,C,and D were fed with fermented feed,which was made from basal feed fermented with Bacillus coagulans,with the addition of 0.4,0.6,and 0.8 g/kg of Bacillus coagulans,respectively.The pre-test period was seven days and the formal test period was 56 days.The results showed that compared with the control group,the egg production rate in the late laying period in each experimental group significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the rates of sandy eggs,substandard eggs,and diarrhea significantly decreased(P＜0.05),the feed to egg ratio and the rate of broken eggs in group C significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The shell thickness and shell strength in each experimental group significantly increased(P＜0.05),with the highest values in group C.Compared with the control group,the number of Escherichia coli in the jejunum in each experimental group significantly decreased(P＜0.05),while the numbers of lactic acid bacteria significantly increased(P＜0.05).The study indicates that the use of Bacillus coagulans fermented feed can increase laying rate,reduce feed to egg ratio,increase eggshell thickness and eggshell strength,and improve the intestinal flora of laying hens in the late laying period.Considering the overall consideration,it is more suitable to feed 0.6 g/kg Bacillus coagulans fermented feed.