Supplementing Xylanase Improves Egg Production

Producers are concerned about the economic impact of dietary energy costs in broiler production, as feed expenses amount to nearly 50% of the total costs. As such, reducing dietary energy costs while improving the feed conversion ratio (FCR) has been a focus of poultry producers for many years. A recent study has shown that supplementing laying hen diets with xylanase can increase feed intake and improve egg production.

The study included a total of 288 Lohmann White laying hens at 67 weeks of age that were distributed in 36 traditional cage facility. Each cage was considered as an experimental unit and consisted of eight birds where six replicate cages were assigned to each treatment in a completely randomized design. Diets were based on corn, soybean meal and corn gluten meal, and different xylanase inclusion levels were added to low-energy diets and fed from 69 to 85 weeks of age. Each cage was considered as an experimental unit and consisted of eight birds where six replicate cages were assigned to each treatment in a completely randomized design. Egg production and other parameters were compared.

The results showed that overall feed intake was higher in laying hens fed the low-energy diets compared to the control, which resulted in a numerical increase in FCR per Kg eggs. Additionally, supplementing xylanase numerically improved egg production and FCR expressed as egg mass compared to control. Furthermore, the 100 g/MT xylanase dose resulted in the best egg production and FCR compared to all treatments, which was a 3% improvement in egg production and 3 points in FCR compared to the control.

In conclusion, supplementing xylanase while feeding a low-energy diet is a potential solution for producers to reduce feed costs while improving egg production in laying hens. The study results concluded that xylanase supplementation increased feed intake and efficiently compensated for energy reduction, as well as sustained egg production, weight, and mass in laying hens.