Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Dry on Laying Performance, Egg Quality, Serum Biochemical Parameters and Cecal Microbiota in Laying Hens.

Alternative growth promoters are able to not only effectively replace the traditional use of antibiotics but also provide additional health benefits for livestock and reduce food safety concerns. This study investigated the effects of dry on the laying performance and fecal microbial community of laying hens. Twenty-four Lohmann (LSL, white layer strain) hens were reared from 40 to 48 weeks of age and randomly allotted to four dietary treatments (six birds/treatment). The dietary treatments comprised a basal diet with no treatment as control, a basal diet plus 0.6% powder of dry roots (R) or leaves (L), and a basal diet plus 0.6% powder of a mixture of dry roots and leaves (1:1, LR). No mortality was observed in the whole experimental period. The results indicated that albumen height in the LR group was significantly greater than that in the control group. The diet supplemented with had no significant effects on egg production rate, egg weight, eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, Haugh unit, or yolk height during the whole experimental phase. However, principal coordinate analysis, comparative heat map analysis, and cluster dendrogram analysis of cecal microbiota showed distinct clusters among the groups treated with and the control group. Regarding blood biochemical parameters, serum cholesterol levels were significantly lower in all -treated groups compared with those in the control group. Moreover, serum low-density lipoprotein levels were lower in hens supplemented with the leaf of The abundances of the phyla Fusobacteria and Kiritimatiellaeota were increased ( < 0.05) in laying hens fed with 0.6% leaves, whereas the abundance of the phylum Firmicutes in cecum digesta decreased in response to treatment with roots and leaves. The relative abundance of the genus was higher in the LR group compared with that in the control. On the contrary, we found a different trend in the genus. The potential influences of these microbiota on the performance of laying hens were discussed. The results demonstrate that can improve the egg albumen height and modulate the cecum digesta microbiota composition of laying hens.