Production Performance of White Leghorn Layers Fed

Lactobacillus Fermentation Products

A. C. GOODLING

Calhoun Research Station, Box 10, Calhoun, Louisiana 71225

G. J. CERNIGLIA and J. A. HEBERT

Department of Poultry Science, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station,

Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

(Received for publication April 30, 1986)

ABSTRACT A series of trials was conducted to determine if adding a Lactobacillus fermentation product
(LAC) to the feed of laying hens would improve their production performance. Feeding a liquid, nonviable
LAC product to either cage or floor housed laying hens did not improve hen-day egg production, feed
efficiency, nor egg size during a 48 week experimental period. Laying hens fed a dried, nonviable LAC
product did not show any improvement in hen-day egg production nor feed efficiency compared with laying
hens fed no LAC or zinc bacitracin. Addition of a viable LAC product to rations of differing protein levels
did not improve hen-day egg production, livability, or egg size of laying hens.
(Key words: Lactobacillus, fermentation products, laying hen, egg production, egg size)

1987 Poultry Science 66:480-486

INTRODUCTION
Lactobacillus organisms are subdivided into
two groups based on fermentation patterns
(Brown, 1977). The first group is homofermen-
tative, producing mainly lactic acid (in excess
of 85%) from glucose fermentation. A second
heterofermentative species produces approxi-
mately 50% lactic acid as an end product along
with considerable quantities of acetic acid,
ethanol, and carbon dioxide. Huber etal. (1976)
observed Lactobacillus organisms proliferate
rapidly when high-energy carbohydrate rations
are fed. Lactobacillus growth was optimal at
pH 5.5 to 5.8. The gut pH of chickens and the
typical diets they are fed, seem to meet the
criteria for maximal lactobacilli proliferation
and growth.
Krueger et al. (1977) reported that addition
of a Lactobacillus complex to laying hen rations
increased egg production and feed efficiency.
An increase in both egg production and large
eggs was reported by Hargis and Creger (1978)
when laying hens were fed a Lactobacillus com-
plex; feed efficiency was not affected. Dilworth
and Day (1978) found that addition of various
levels of Lactobacillus to broiler diets resulted
in a significant improvement in growth rate and
feed efficiency. In addition, they found that Lac-
tobacillus supplementation of diets containing
suboptimal levels of sulfur amino acids and
lysine promoted a growth rate equal to broilers
fed diets containing adequate amino acid levels.
Francis et al. (1978) observed an improvement
in turkey poult body weight and feed efficiency
when Lactobacillus product or zinc bacitracin
was added to the diet. However, when the prod-
uct was combined with zinc bacitracin in the
diet, poult performance was not as good as when
the Lactobacillus product or zinc bacitracin was
fed alone. Potter et al. (1979) observed that
feeding turkeys a dry Lactobacillus acidophilus
culture in combination with varying protein
levels significantly enhanced body weight up to
12 weeks of age. At 16 weeks of age, body
weights and feed efficiency measures of turkeys
fed the Lactobacillus culture were not different
from controls.
Watkins et al. (1982) used gnotobiotic chicks
to assess the effect of challenging them with
Lactobacillus acidophilus and pathogenic Es-
cherichia coli in vivo; chick body weight was
not affected. Mortality in chicks given Lac-
tobacillus acidophilus decreased from 66.7% to
zero.
The objective of these experiments was to
determine if Lactobacillus products would im-
prove the performance of laying hens and in-

480
 LACTOBACILLUS FERMENTATION PRODUCTS 481

crease the size of eggs produced. In addition, a
Lactobacillus fermentation product was
evaluated, when fed in combination with zinc
bacitracin or with varied protein levels.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experiment 1. A total of 1,680 day-old
Shaver 288 pullet chicks was obtained from a
commercial hatchery and cage reared to 23
weeks of age. Pullets were debeaked at 3 weeks
of age and vaccinated at 1, 7, and 15 weeks of
age for Newcastle disease and infectious bron-
chitis. At 23 weeks of age, birds were randomly
selected and placed either in laying cages or
floor pens. Each cage was 40.6 cm wide by
45.7 cm deep and contained five birds. Floor
pens were 3.35 m wide x 3.66 m deep and
contained 65 birds each.
Pullets were placed on a 16L:8D (hours of
light:hours of darkness) cycle throughout the
laying period during which performance data
were collected. A liquid nonviable Lactobacillus
product was added at one of four levels (0, .26,
.52, and .78 L/ton) to the diet of laying hens.
Diets and water were provided ad libitum. All
diets (Table 1) met or exceeded, by calculation,
the amino acid requirements of the laying hen
established by the National Research Council
(National Research Council, 1984). Beginning
at 23 weeks of age, egg weight, feed intake,
hen-day egg production, and mortality measure-
ments were recorded for 12 28-day periods of
lay. All hens were weighed at the beginning and
end of the experiment.
Data were analyzed in each trial using the
General Linear Models program and the Duncan
multiple range test available in the Statistical
Analysis System (Barr etal., 1979). The experi-
mental design was a randomized block with a
split-plot arrangement of treatments. The main
plot was a factorial arrangement of the two hous-
ing methods (cage vs. floor) and four levels of
Lactobacillus product. The 12 28-day laying
periods constituted the split-plot.
Experiment 2. A total of 2,688 day-old Bab-
cock B-300 female chicks were cage reared and
subjected to experimental protocols and data
analyses described in Experiment 1. Pullets were
kept in laying cages. Treatments were diets,
with or without zinc bacitracin, in which four
levels of a dried, nonviable Lactobacillus fer-
mentation product were added (Table 1). The
eight treatments were randomly assigned to lay-
ing hens (four replications, 84 hens/replication).
Eggs were collected on 3 consecutive days every
4th week from 35 through 71 weeks of age and
sized according to United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) size categories.
Experiment 3. Procedures in Experiment 3
were similar to Experiment 2, with three major
exceptions. The main plot was six treatments:
two levels of a dried viable Lactobacillus fer-
mentation product, each fed in combination with
either a sand or ground corn cob carrier vehicle
and either a 14 or 17% protein diet (Table 1).
The six diets were randomly assigned to 2,688
laying hens (four replications, 112 hens/replica-

TABLE 1. Composition of diets

Ingredient Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Exp<:riment 3

\M
Corn 63.22 63.22 63.25 66.00 63.40
Soybean meal, 4 5 % protein 25.50 25.50 25.50 18.15 25.60
Sand 4.80
Defluorinated p h o s p h a t e 2 2 2 2 2
Oyster shell 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.25 7.25
Vitamin and mineral m i x 1 .25 .25 .25 .25 .25
Salt .25 .25 .25 .45 .45
DL-Methionine .05 .05 .05 .10 .05
Soybean oil 1 1 1 1 1
Zinc bacitracin .03 .03
Calculated:
Protein, % 17 17 17 14 17
Metabolizable energy, kcal/kg 2,829 2,829 2,830 2,830 2,830

'Vitamin and mineral mix provides (per kilogram of finished feed): vitamin A, 11,000 IU; vitamin D 3 , 1,650
ICU; vitamin E, 8.25 IU; vitamin B 1 2 , .011 mg; riboflavin, 4.4 mg; niacin, 33 mg; d-pantothenic acid, .33 mg;
thiamine, 1.1 mg; zinc, 44 mg; copper, 2.0 mg; iodine, 1.17 mg; iron, 20.3 mg; cobalt, .20 mg, and manganese,
60.75 mg.
 TABLE 2. Production performance of laying hens fed varying levels of a liquid, nonviable Lactobacillus ferm

Lactobacillus
Housing fermentation Hen-day Egg Feed Feed
method product egg production weight consumption efficien

(ml/kg) (%) (g)

Cage 0 76.4 64.0 113.9 2.33
.26 74.3 63.3 112.4 2.40
.52 74.9 63.3 112.0 2.36
.78 73.1 63.4 111.3 2.41
Mean 74.7 ± . 5 1a 63.5 ± .50 a 112.4 ± 90 a 2.37 ±
Floor 79.9 62.9 121.2 2.42
.26 80.1 62.7 120.4 2.41
.52 76.7 62.6 117.6 2.46
.78 78.3 63.1 119.7 2.43
Mean 3 78.8 .64 u 6 2 . 8 : .31 L 119.7 + .91 1 2.43 ±

ab
' Means within a column followed by different superscripts are statistically different (P<.05).
1
Trade name = Culbac, a fermentation product of Trans Agra Corp., a subsidiary of Texas Gas Transmission Corp., Me
2
Grams of feed per gram of egg.
3
Mean ± standard error.
 TABLE 3. Production performance responses of laying hens fed a dried, non-viable Lactobacillus
with and without zinc bacitracin1 from 23 through 70 weeks of age (Experime

Lactobacillus
fermentation Zinc Hen-day Egg Feed Feed
product bacitracin egg production weight consum ed efficien

(mg/kg) (mg/kg) (%> (g)

0 0 79.8 64.5abe 126.6 2.47
250 0 81.3 64.2 C 126.2 2.43
500 0 80.9 64.6abc 126.7 2.43
750 0 81.3 64.8 a 127.6 2.43
0 27.5 80.5 64.6abc 124.7 2.40
250 27.5 80.1 64.2bc 126.6 2.47
500 27.5 79.5 64.7ab 126.7 2.47
750 27.5 80.4 64.1c 126.0 2.45

Means with in a column followed by different superscripts are statistically different ( P « 0 5 ) .

1
Trade name = Culbac, a fermentation product of Trans Agra Corporation, a suibsidiary of Texas Gas Transmission Cor
J
Trade name = Baciferm, Commercial Solvents Corp., Terre Haute, IN.
3
Grams of feed per gram of egg.
484 GOODLING ET AL.

TABLE 4. Egg she classifications from laying hens fed a dried, nonviable Lactobacillus fermentation product1
with and without zinc bacitracin1 from 35 through 70 weeks of age (Experiment 2)

Lactobacillus
fermentation Zinc Extra Large Medium
product bacitracin large eggs eggs eggs

/ n \
(mg/lvg)
0 0 65abc 3 1 abc 4
250 0 62 c 33 a
5
500 0 67ab 2 8 bcd 5
750 0 68a 28cd 4
0 27.5 67ab 28bcd 5
bc
250 27.5 64 3 1 abc 5
d
500 27.5 69a
27 4
750 27.5 63e 3 2 ab 5

Mean within a column followed by different superscripts are statistically different (P<.05).
1
Trade name = Culbac, a fermentation product of Trans Agra Corporation, a subsidiary of Texas Gas Trans-
mission Corp., Memphis, TN 38138.
J
Trade name = Baciferm, Commercial Solvents Corp., Terre Haute, IN.

tion). Eggs were collected and sized according
to USDA size categories on three consecutive
days each week from 27 through 50 weeks of
age and every 4th week from 51 through 70
weeks of age.
RESULTS
Experiment 1. The addition of various levels
of a liquid, nonviable Lactobacillus fermenta-
tion product to the diet of either caged or floor
housed pullets did not improve feed efficiency,
egg weight, or hen-day egg production over the
12 28-day periods of Experiment 1 (Table 2).
Mean hen-day egg production and feed con-
sumption for floor housed laying hens were
greater (Ps£.05) than for caged laying hens. Egg
weight and mortality for caged laying hens were
significantly greater (P=£.05) than floor-housed
hens. Body weight gain and feed efficiency were
not influenced by level of Lactobacillus product
fed or rearing methods.
Experiment 2. The Lactobacillus product
with or without zinc bacitracin in the diet did
not influence feed consumption, hen-day egg
production, feed efficiency, or mortality (Table
3). Although there were statistical differences
in egg weight due to treatment, no beneficial
effect on egg weight resulted from addition of
the Lactobacillus product (Table 3). A similar
finding was noted for eggs classified according
to size (Table 4). There was a tendency for
increasing levels of the Lactobacillus product,
without the addition of zinc bacitracin, to pro-
duce a larger percentage of extra large eggs with
a corresponding decrease in the percentage of
medium eggs. However, the treatment without
added Lactobacillus product had the same or
higher percentage of extra large eggs as the other
treatments.
Experiment 3. No improvement was noted in
production performance (Table 5) or in egg size
classification due to feeding various combina-
tions of a viable Lactobacillus product at two
protein levels to laying hens during the 12 28-
day periods of the experiment. Statistical differ-
ences in the percentage of extra large eggs were
obtained by adding the Lactobacillus product to
the 14% protein diet but not to the 17% protein
diet (Table 6).
DISCUSSION
Unlike the findings of Krueger et al. (1977)
or Hargis and Creger (1978), no increase in
hen-day egg production, egg weight, or im-
provement in feed efficiency for laying hens fed
Lactobacillus products was observed. There are
several possible reasons as to why feeding these
products to laying hens in the present studies
failed to be beneficial. Siriwar (1977) reported
that Lactobacillus cultures are host-specific as
well as being specific in their byproduct produc-
tion. Perhaps the cultures used were not host-
specific for the avian species used in the exper-
iment. However, this fact alone cannot entirely
 TABLE 5. Production performance of laying hens fed various combinations of a viab
fermentation product1 and protein from 27 through 70 weeks of age (Exper

Lactobacillus
fermentation Hen-day Egg Feed Feed
product Protein egg production weight consumption effic

(mg/kg) (%) (g)

0 17 69.5 60.8 106.8 2.54
375 s 17 72.1 61.0 108.1 2.47
375 3 17 71.9 60.5 107.3 2.48
0 14 69.8 60.4 106.2 2.54
375 2 14 69.0 60.4 107.2 2.58
375 3 14 69.8 60.8 107.4 2.55

'Trade name = Probios, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Microbial Products Div., Portland, OR 97201.
2
Lactobacillus carrier was sand.
3
Lactobacillus carrier was ground corn cobs.
4
Grams of feed per gram of egg.
486 GOODLING ET AL.

TABLE 6. Egg size classification from laying hens fed various combinations of a dried, viable Lactobacillus
fermentation product* and protein from 27 through 70 weeks of age (Experiment 3)

Lactobacillus
fermentation Extra large Large Medium
product Protein eggs eggs eggs

(mg/kg) (%)
0 17 21.7abc 51.5 24.6
375 2 17 23.4 a 51.4 22.7
375 3 17 20.2abc 53.4 23.8
0 14 19.4 C 52.3 25.0
375 2 14 20.0bc 50.4 26.5
375 3 14 23.0 a b 50.7 22.9

Means within a column followed by different superscripts are statistically different (P<.05).
'Trade name = Probios, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Microbial Products Div., Portland, OR 97201.
2
Lactobacillus carrier was sand.
3
Lactobacillus carrier was ground corn cobs.

explain the lack of any positive response to feed-
ing Lactobacillus. Timms (1968) and Savage et
al. (1968) reported that lactobacilli become es-
tablished in the gut of most species of animals
soon after birth. Therefore, Lactobacillus sup-
plementation under relatively ideal conditions
may not show benefits. Conditions could change
to disturb or destroy the ideal gut flora such as
intestinal damage due to coccidiosis, mycosis,
or the feeding of additives known to alter the
flora. In these normal, but not ideal situations,
a beneficial effect of Lactobacillus product feed-
ing could result in improved performance.
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