Performance, Egg Quality, and Intestinal Morphology of Laying Hens Fed High-Fiber Diets with or Without Stimbiotic Supplementation

TL;DR

This study shows that adding stimbiotic to high-fiber diets improves egg production, quality, and gut health in hens.

Contribution

The novel finding is that combining stimbiotic with specific high-fiber diets enhances performance and intestinal morphology in laying hens.

Findings

Stimbiotic with high-fiber diets increased egg production and feed efficiency.

Fiber-STB interaction improved intestinal villus structure and absorptive area.

Egg quality parameters like yolk pigmentation and shell thickness were enhanced.

Abstract

Poultry farming faces the challenge of producing eggs efficiently while ensuring the health and welfare of laying hens. Nutrition is one of the main factors influencing performance, egg quality, and intestinal health. In this study, we evaluated the combined effects of a stimbiotic feed additive and different levels of dietary fiber in laying hens. The results showed that the combination of stimbiotic and higher fiber levels improved layer performance, egg quality, and intestinal morphology. This research provides practical insights for poultry producers seeking more efficient and environmentally responsible strategies to support animal health and food production.

Moderately fermentable dietary fiber (with different crude fiber [CF] levels), especially when combined with stimbiotic (STB) supplementation, can enhance intestinal health, nutrient utilization, and overall performance in laying hens, although effects depend on fiber type, level, and diet composition. To investigate this, 1200 Bovans White laying hens (32 weeks old) were assigned to a 2 × 6 factorial experiment with two levels of supplementation (without or with 0.01% STB) and six dietary fiber treatments: Control (commercial diet), Corn–soybean, 75:25 wheat–corn, 50:50 wheat–corn, 25:75 wheat–corn, and Corn–soybean. The study spanned five 28-day periods, evaluating productive performance, egg quality, and intestinal morphology. Dietary fiber levels significantly improved feed intake (p = 0.0029), egg production (p < 0.0001), egg mass (p < 0.0001), feed conversion (p < 0.0001), and intestinal structure (p ≤ 0.05), while STB alone had limited effects. Hens fed 75:25 and 50:50 wheat–corn diets consumed more feed, and the highest egg production and mass were observed in layers receiving Control, 75:25 wheat–corn, and Corn–soybean diets. Egg quality benefited from the fiber–STB interaction, producing heavier eggs with higher yolk pigmentation (p ≤ 0.05), thicker shells (p ≤ 0.05), and specific gravity (p ≤ 0.05). STB supplementation increased jejunal villus width (p = 0.0001) and absorptive area (p = 0.0063), whereas fiber type affected ileal villus width (p = 0.0025) and absorptive area (p = 0.0156). Fiber–STB interaction influences the duodenum villus width (p = 0.0106), crypt depth (p = 0.0011), villus-to-crypt ratio (p = 0.0058), and absorptive area (p = 0.0086), and ileum villus width (p = 0.0011), crypt depth (p = 0.0058), and absorptive area (p = 0.0086). In conclusion, the use of 0.01% STB in diets with high crude fiber levels (25:75 and 75:25 wheat–corn ratios) improves performance, egg quality, and intestinal health in laying hens.

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