Dietary Administration of Enhances Growth Performance, Immune Response and Disease Resistance in Cherry Valley Ducks.

Given the promising results of applying (.subtilis) as a probiotic in both humans and animals, the aim of this study was to systematically investigate the effects of on growth performance, immune response and disease resistance in Cherry Valley ducks. At 28 d post-hatch (dph), ducks fed a diet with weighed significantly more, had higher relative immune organ weights (e.g., bursa of Fabricius, thymus, and spleen), and exhibited greater villus heights, villus height to crypt depth ratios (duodenum and jejunum), and shallower crypt depths in the duodenum than controls fed a normal diet ( < 0.05). Moreover, the major pro-inflammatory factors and antiviral proteins, as measured in the thymus and the spleen, were higher at 28 dph in ducks fed probiotics than those of 14 dph. After 28 d of feeding, the ducks were challenged with () and novel duck reovirus (NDRV), and ducks fed achieved survival rates of 43.3 and 100%, respectively, which were significantly greater than the control group's 20 and 83.3%. Altogether, diets with can improve Cherry Valley ducks' growth performance, innate immune response, and resistance against and NDRV.