Dietary 25-hydroxyvitamin D improves intestinal health and microbiota of laying hens under high stocking density.

ABSTRACT: The high stocking density is a major stress factor that adversely affects the health and performance of poultry. Therefore, the object of this study was conducted to explore whether dietary 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D₃) could improve gut health of laying hens reared under high stocking density. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used in this 16-week study, in which 800 45-week-old Lohmann laying hens were allocated into two levels of dietary 25-OH-D₃ levels (0 and 69 µg/kg) and two rates of stocking densities [506 (low density, LD) and 338 (high density, HD) cm²/hen]. Compared with the layers with LD, the layers with HD had lower crypt depth in duodenum (P_(Density) < 0.05), lower short chain fatty acid (propionic and butyric acid) contents in cecum (P

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8173302 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature