A Comparison of Production Performance, Egg Quality, and Cecal Microbiota in Laying Hens Receiving Graded Levels of Vitamin B₁₂.

ABSTRACT: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of fortified diets with standard vs. high levels of vitamin B₁₂ on cecal microbiota composition, production performance, and eggshell quality of laying hens. Dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet with no supplementation of vitamin B₁₂ or supplemented with 25, 100, and 400 μg/kg vitamin B₁₂, respectively. A total of 432 laying hens were randomly assigned to four treatments with six replicates per treatment. No significant effect of dietary treatments on the production performance of hens was detected. The shell thickness of eggs from hens fed diet supplemented with 100 μg/kg of vitamin B₁₂ was higher (P < 0.01) than that of eggs from hens fed control diet or supplemented with 2

SUBMITTER: Wang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8566728 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature