A tough egg to crack What probiotics can do for egg producers By Pauline Rovers-Paap, Central Technical Manager, Orffa Additives, the Netherlands
Large volumes of saleable eggs at the highest quality are key for egg producers. Intestinal health and optimal nutrient and mineral absorption in the digestive tract are essential for egg production, shell quality and food safety of eggs. Probiotics are known to have a beneficial effect on the intestinal microbial composition, as probiotics support the persistence of beneficial commensal microbes which assist in the digestion of feed and help to protect the host from pathogenic colonisation. In 2016, the probiotic with the commercial name Calsporin®
received a new European feed additive registration for application in laying hens. Since then, numerous new studies have been carried out that further demonstrate the beneficial effect of the dietary probiotic in layers and breeders. Calsporin®
contains viable spores of Bacillus
velezensis DSM 15544. A new taxonomic name, as the strain was formally known under the name Bacillus subtilis C-3102 (DSM 15544). This article provides an update of the scientific research available on the effect of probiotic Bacillus velezensis DSM15544 in laying hens.
Support performance of hens, young and old Optimal feeding supports young hens in early peak production and will enable egg producers to better maintain production performance in the final stage of laying. In young hens, between 19 to 42 weeks of age, the addition of 3 x 108
CFU B. velezensis DSM 15544 per kg feed, resulted in a faster increase of egg weight, higher egg mass and better utilisation of the feed (figure 1)1 . Even with hens during peak performance, similar
feed intake and higher performance did not negatively influence live hen weight in the probiotic group, reflecting an improved feed efficiency, instead of mobilisation of body reserves for egg production. In another study, following hens for a period of one year (from 19 to 70 weeks of age), the inclusion of 3 x 108
CFU B. velezensis DSM 15544 per kg
feed improved laying rate, egg weight, egg mass and feed conversion over the whole period2
by the addition of Calsporin®
. The beneficial support of laying performance proven in the registration and practical
field trials is also reaffirmed in recently published scientific articles. In various studies, the addition of B. velezensis DSM 15544 improved egg production3,4
, egg weight5 , egg mass3 and feed conversion ratio3,4 .
In a study with increasing amounts of the probiotic per treatment, the addition of B. velezensis in the diet linearly increased egg weight5
. Even
though the fact that the probiotic is already effective at a low dosage of 30 ppm (3 x 108
CFU/ kg feed), higher concentrations can improve animal performance even more.
Freshness and colour of the egg Haugh unit and yolk index are important indicators to evaluate the
freshness of eggs. Although a trend for a higher Haugh unit was found in one trial2
, this could not be confirmed by another study, in which a
significant positive effect on yolk index (calculated by dividing yolk height by yolk width) was found by the addition of B. velezensis DSM 155445
Figure 1 a-c: Bacillus velezensis DSM 15544 positively influenced laying hen performance in early stages of the production period1 * Trend for significant difference (P < 0,10), ** Significant difference (P < 0,05).
. .
FEED COMPOUNDER MARCH/APRIL 2023 PAGE 29
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