Efficacy of the probiotic Bacillus licheniformis DSM 28710 in laying hens fed barley-sunflower meal-based diets on performance egg quality and excreta composition

The present study was conducted to determine and confirm the effect of dietary supplementation of Bacilus licheniformis DSM 28710 spores on productive performance, egg quality and nutrient excretion in laying hens. A total of 375 Lohmann Brown laying hens (initial body weight 1.70 kg), aged 25 to 44 weeks, were used in this study. Hens were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 dietary treatments: CON (basal diet), BL0.5 (basal diet plus 0.5 g/kg B. licheniformis DSM 28710) and BL1.0 (basal diet plus 1.0 g/kg B. licheni-formis DSM 28710) consisting of 25 replicate cages, 5 hens each. Overall, the results of the present study demonstrated that supplementation of 0.5 g/kg B. licheniformis DSM 28710 significantly improved the feed conversion ra- tio and egg mass (P < 0.05) compared to control and 1.0 g/kg B. licheniformis DSM 28710. However, no significant differences in other performance param- eters were observed between treatments (P > 0.05). Supplementation with dif-ferent levels of B. licheniformis DSM 28710 was effective in improving egg quality by increasing shell thickness, Haugh unit (P < 0.05) and dirty egg percentage (P < 0.05). Moisture and protein contents of excreta were also significantly re- duced by 0.5 g/kg B. licheniformis DSM 28710 supplementation (P < 0.05), while ash content was increased (P < 0.05). Overall, supplementation with B. licheni-formis DSM 28710 at a dose of 0.5 g/kg provided a probiotic effect leading to im-proved egg mass, feed efficiency and egg quality, as well as lower protein content in excreta in Lohmann brown hens fed a barley and sunflower meal-based diet.