Two groups of laying hens (eight hens in each group) were given dried pig faeces at a concentration of 2.5% and 5% for six months and at a concentration of 5% and 10% for another five months. No signs of health disorders ascribable to the tested diet were found by the premortal examination of the hens and post-mortal veterinary inspection of the carcasses and organs of the slaughtered birds. Some differences in meat and fat composition were observed between the test and control birds, apparently without any association with the diet. Hence the addition of pig faeces to hen diet can be regarded as safe in view of hen meat quality.
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Poult Sci
January 2025
Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University, 6709PG Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Feather pecking, related feather damage, and mortality are crucial welfare and efficiency traits in laying hens. When individuals are kept in sib groups, genetic analysis of feather scores captures the performer and receiver components of feather damage due to pecking. Genetic parameters and breeding values estimated from such data with an ordinary linear mixed model refer to total breeding values.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoult Sci
January 2025
University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address:
This study investigated the effects of supplementing laying hen's diet with vitamin A (5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 IU/kg) and trace minerals (Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe and Se) in inorganic and organic form on the carotenoid content and deposition efficiency in egg yolk. Hen's diet consisted of two commercial dent corn hybrids (soft- and hard-type), which differed in their carotenoid profile. The feeding trial was conducted with 252 Lohmann Brown hens allocated in 84 cages that were randomly assigned to 12 dietary treatments (2 hybrids × 3 vitamin A levels × 2 trace mineral forms).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoult Sci
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Sichuan Agricultural, University, Chengdu, 611130, China; Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China; Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-omics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal and Technology (Institute of Animal Genetics and Breeding), Chengdu, 611130, China. Electronic address:
Probiotics benefit the health and production performance of chickens, but their impact on egg and eggshell quality, particularly in the later stage, remains unclear. Here, 1-day-old Tianfu green shell-laying hens were fed either non-probiotics feed (n = 180) or feed supplemented with 100 mg / kg probiotics (n = 180). 16S rDNA sequencing indicated that dietary probiotics decreased the distribution of uterine p_Firmicutes, g_Fusobacterium, and s_Fusobacterium_unclassified, while increased p_Proteobacteria, g_Ralstonia, and s_Ralstonia_unclassified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl)
January 2025
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Braunschweig, Germany.
Bone damages in laying hens are of great concern in poultry farming. Besides various risk factors like housing systems or nutrient supply during egg production, it has often been hypothesized that genetically high-performing laying hens may be more prone to bone damages. The relevance of dietary support during the rearing period of pullets for optimal bone development has been little addressed so far.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysiol Genomics
January 2025
Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2, D-18196 Dummerstorf, Germany.
Decades of artificial selection have markedly enhanced egg production efficiency, yet the epigenetic underpinnings, notably DNA methylation dynamics in the gut, remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigate how breeds and developmental stages influence DNA methylation profiles in laying hens, and their potential relationship to laying performance and gut health. We compared two highly selected laying hen strains, Lohmann Brown-Classic (LB) and Lohmann LSL-Classic (LSL), which exhibited similar egg production but divergent physiological, metabolic, and immunological characteristics.
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