article · Translational Animal Science
Dietary supplementation with mannan-oligosaccharides improves productivity, immune health, and economic efficiency in laying hens without altering fertility or hatchability. An experiment testing three supplementation levels of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 grams per kilogram of feed against a basal control diet in Mandarah chickens found that birds receiving the prebiotic produced more eggs, achieved higher total egg mass, and demonstrated better feed conversion ratios. Carcass quality also improved. Hens fed the highest level of 0.5 grams per kilogram recorded the best egg quality and elevated testosterone levels, while all treated groups displayed higher estradiol-17beta levels. Prebiotic inclusion also strengthened immune function, shown by enlarged spleen and thymus glands and elevated antibody levels against H9N2 influenza and infectious bronchitis virus. While reproductive measures such as fertility and embryo mortality were unaffected, overall economic efficiency improved across all supplemented diets.
Poultry producers continually seek nutritional strategies that simultaneously improve bird performance, health, and farm profitability. Demonstrating that a prebiotic feed additive improves egg yields, feed efficiency, and immune defences against common viral diseases offers a practical method to boost flock resilience and economic returns without compromising hatchability or fertility.
This applied research provides direct dietary formulations for poultry feed manufacturers and commercial egg producers. Because the trial tested specific dosage levels in laying hens with measured economic efficiency and disease antibody gains, the practice represents an applied and tested intervention that could be integrated directly into commercial feed blending programmes.
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This experiment examined how adding mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) to the diet affected fertility, hatching rates, egg production, carcass characteristics, cost-effectiveness, and immune function in laying hens. One hundred and twenty Mandarah chickens (30 hens and 3 roosters per group) were randomly chosen between 34 and 50 wk old and divided into four groups. The first group was the control group, which was given just the basal diet. The basal diet was given to the second, third, and fourth experimental groups along with three different levels of MOS (0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 g/kg diet, respectively). Results found that hens fed MOS at various levels laid eggs at a significantly higher rate, enhanced egg number, egg mass and feed conversion ratio than the control group (<i>P</i> < 0.05). MOS seemed to improve carcass quality. The best results for egg quality (Haugh unit) and testosterone levels were seen with a dose of 0.5 g/kg of MOS compared to the control birds (<i>P</i> < 0.05). All MOS levels led to higher estradiol-17β (E2) levels and better economic efficiency (EE). MOS also improved the hens' immune systems as compared to the control group. Hens-fed MOS had significantly greater levels of antibodies against Influenza viruses (H9N2) and Infectious Bronchitis Virus (<i>P</i> < 0.05). Also, the spleen and thymus gland, both crucial immune system components, were slightly larger (<i>P</i> < 0.05). It's important to note that fertility rates, hatchability, and embryo mortality rates remained similar across all groups. So, our findings suggest that incorporating MOS into the birds' diet enhances their productivity, strengthens their immune system, improves EE, and contributes to the overall health of the hens.
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DOI: 10.1093/tas/txae123
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