Effect of dietary fermented mushroom bed on egg production in laying hens

Figures & data

Table 1. Constituents of FWMB.

	Composition (%)
Water	0
Crude protein	15.9
Crude fat	5.2
Nitrogen-free extract	50.5
Crude fiber	16.7
Crude ash	11.7

Fig. 1. Effect of FWMB feeding on egg production.

Notes: Hens started laying eggs at 141 days old in the control group and 139 days old in the FWMB group. Hens were sacrificed at 688 days old in both groups. As some hens died during the study period, the number of eggs were adjusted to number per 100 hens. The number of eggs are presented as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05.

Table 2. Egg production of hens.

Item	Control	FWMB
	/month	/month
Soft shell eggs (the number)	13.94 ± 0.67	2.63 ± 0.31^*
Broken eggs	9.31 ± 0.78	2.50 ± 0.29^*
Weight of an egg (g)	64.8 ± 0.21	65.0 ± 0.24

Notes: Control: Hens that were fed the control food (n = 100); FWMB: hens that were fed the control food plus 3% FWMB. Data are presented as mean ± SE. *p < 0.05 indicates a significant difference.

Fig. 2. Effect of FWMB feeding on stress-related biomarkers in blood.

Notes: Blood was collected from hens fed either the control diet or the FWMB diet at 321 and 637 days old. Whole blood was used for the lymphocyte count. Plasma was used to measure ovotransferrin and lipid peroxide using an ELISA kit or a TBARS kit, respectively. Lipid peroxide level was expressed as malondialdehyde concentration. Results are expressed as mean ± SE. *p < 0.05.

Fig. 3. Effect of FWMB feeding on gut microbiota.

Notes: Fresh feces were collected when the hens were 582 days old. Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillaceae spp., Bacteroides spp., Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Enterobacteriaceae spp. were cultured (each on a suitable medium). The number of colonies were counted. The results are presented as log colony-forming units (CFU)/2 g of feces (mean ± SE, *p < 0.05).