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Simple Summary: Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) is widely found in chickens and eggs and has the potential to induce human illness. Infection with Salmonella enteritidis triggers inflammatory responses in the gut and body, leading to decreased production performance of poultry. Sodium butyrate (SB) is an alternative antibiotic used as an acidifier that can be transformed into butyric acid (BA) in the avian alimentary canal. BA, a short-chain fatty acid, is often used extensively in poultry production against Salmonella. Since an unpleasant odor can affect feed intake, coated sodium butyrate (CSB) is more widely used. However, the effects of CSB on intestinal health in hens infected with S. Enteritidis have been less reported. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of long-term dietary supplementation with CSB on the intestinal health and colonization of cecum Salmonella from laying hens infected with Salmonella enteritidis. The obtained results revealed that long-term dietary CSB improved the gut morphology and alleviated intestinal injury and the colonization of cecum Salmonella of laying hens infected with S. Enteritidis. Moreover, long-term supplementation of CSB in laying hens resulted in a better intestinal barrier, which effectively protected the intestinal health of laying hens and reduced Salmonella challenges. Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) is widely found in chickens and eggs, and it can potentially induce human illness. The investigation in this study centers on the impacts of long-term dietary supplementation with coated sodium butyrate (CSB) on intestinal well-being and the colonization of cecum Salmonella in laying hens infected with S. Enteritidis. We segregated a total of 120 Lohmann laying hens aged 51 weeks into four treatment categories: 0 (CON), 300 (CSB1), 500 (CSB2), and 800 (CSB3) mg/kg of CSB, supplemented with CSB from the first day of the experiment. A 24-week observation process was carried out for each laying hen. The S. Enteritidis was orally administered to all chickens on the morning of the first and third days of week 22 of the trial. After the S. Enteritidis challenge, egg production decreased the most in the CON group. Compared to the CON group, the three doses of CSB significantly improved egg production after the S. Enteritidis challenge (PANOVA < 0.05). S. Enteritidis challenge increased plasma DAO activity, but CSB supplementation reduced plasma DAO activity (Plinear < 0.05). The S. Enteritidis challenge disrupted intestinal villi morphology; compared to the CON group, the three dosages of CSB resulted in an increase in villus height (VH) and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (V/C) in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of infected laying hens (Plinear < 0.05), with a significant increase in jejunal villus height (PANOVA < 0.05). A decrease in ileal crypt depth was also observed (Plinear < 0.05). CSB2 and CSB3 markedly increased the content of butyric acid in the cecum (PANOVA < 0.05). Additionally, in contrast to those in the CON group, the propionic acid content in the CSB supplementation group increased (Plinear < 0.05). Compared with those in the CON group, mRNA relative expression of the IL-6 and IL-1β in jejunum (Plinear < 0.05) and mRNA relative expression of the IL-1β in ileum (PANOVA < 0.05) were significantly lower, and mRNA relative expression of the IL-10 in ileum (Plinear < 0.05) were significantly higher in the CSB group. In addition, in contrast to the CON group, the CSB supplementation group significantly upregulated mRNA relative expression of the ZO-1 and CLDN1 (PANOVA < 0.05). Additionally, CSB supplementation reduced the number of Salmonella and increased the number of Lactobacilli in the cecum (Plinear < 0.05) and tended to increase the total bacteria count (Plinear = 0.069) and reduce the E. coli count (Plinear = 0.081). In conclusion, long-term dietary supplementation with coated sodium butyrate can alleviate intestinal injury and the colonization of cecum Salmonella in laying hens infected with S. Enteritidis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Increasing numbers of livestock and aquaculture are resulting in insufficient feed. As a result, the use of unconventional raw materials is receiving increased attention. Corn bran (CB) is a by-product of corn starch production, which is high in yield and dietary fiber but low in price. Whether CB can be used in laying ducks' diet and its maximum level remain unknown. In this study, the highest dietary CB level was set at 12%, which is double its maximum level in the laying duck industry. The results showed that the inclusion of 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12% CB in laying ducks' diet under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions had no adverse impacts on laying performance. Feeding ducks a 12% CB diet also improved digestive organ development, cecal beneficial bacterium population and beneficial metabolite production, albumen height, Haugh unit, and yolk color of eggs. The data suggested that the level of CB can reach up to 12% in a laying duck diet under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions. The application of corn bran (CB) to laying ducks via iso-energy and iso-nitrogen diets is rarely reported. Six hundred laying ducks (49 weeks) were equally assigned to five treatments: the control group with 0% CB and the other four groups with 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12% CB. The experiment lasted for 11 weeks. With the increase in CB, the relative weight of the proventriculus, gizzard, and ileum and the content and proportion of butyric acid in the cecal digesta were quadratically changed (p < 0.05), and the highest value was observed in the 12% CB group. Compared with the control, the 12% CB group showed decreased Deferribacteres, Spirochaetota, and Fusobacteriota at the phyla level and showed increased Pediococcus and decreased Bifidobacterium and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group at the genus level (p < 0.10); the 12% CB group also showed 46 different metabolites, which are related to Lactobacillus and Pediococcus (p < 0.05). The 12% CB group showed increased (p < 0.05) albumen height at week 8 and yolk color at weeks 4 and 8 compared with the control. Overall, dietary inclusion of 3% to 12% CB is a possible feeding strategy for laying ducks under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions, and the 12% CB group was more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: With the demand for high-quality poultry products, it is imperative to exploit effective and green feed additives that can stimulate the latent productive capacity of broiler chickens. Numerous studies have shown that essential oils (EOs) are able to maintain intestinal microflora stabilization, improve the digestion and absorption efficiency of intestine, and have effective anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, essential oils themselves have many limitations, for example, poor stability and palatability. In this study, we evaluated thymol and carvacrol eutectic (TCE), which was produced using pharmaceutical cocrystal technology in broilers' feed. The results showed that supplementation with TCE in broiler diets can improve growth performance, jejunal morphology, and nutrient absorption and transport capacities, as well as ileal morphology, barrier function, and inflammatory status, which indicates that the bioactive compounds of essential oils treated using pharmaceutical cocrystal technology can play an active role in poultry production. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of diets supplementing with various levels of thymol and carvacrol eutectic (TCE) on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, intestinal morphology, and the expression of intestinal nutrient absorption, barrier function- and inflammation-related genes in broiler chickens. A total of 640 one-day-old Arbor Acres male broilers with similar body weights were randomly divided into four groups (8 replicates/group, 20 broilers/replicate). Birds in the four experimental groups were fed a basal diet with TCE at 0, 30, 60, or 120 mg/kg. The results showed that the growth performance of birds during 22–42 d or 1–42 d, serum IgE and IgG content at 21 d of age, jejunal and ileal morphology, ileal MUC2, OCLN, and IL-10 mRNA expression were significantly increased compared with the control group (p < 0.05), and the ileal IL-6 mRNA expression quadratically decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing dietary TCE supplemented dosage, and its expression showed a linear downward trend (0.05 < p < 0.1). Meanwhile, compared with the other three groups, birds fed diets with 30 mg/kg TCE presented better (p < 0.05) growth performance, intestinal morphology, and function. These results indicated that the optimal supplementation amount of TCE in the broiler diets was 30 mg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to explore the effect of long-term supplementation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OHD) as a vitamin D3 (VD3) substitute on performance, bone traits, and egg quality of laying hens from 1 day to 72 weeks of age. In total, 900 one-day-old Lohman pullets were randomly allotted into three dietary groups (three treatments × 15 replicates × 20 birds per replicate): VD3 2800 IU/kg; 25-OHD 69 μg/kg; 25-OHD 125 μg/kg. At the end of the 20th w, five replicates from each group were selected to feed on the same vitamin D diets, as used during the rearing stage (1–20 w) until 72 w. The result showed that the 25-OHD 125 μg/kg treatment had the lowest average daily feed intake (ADFI) at 1–8 or 1–19 w, body weight at 8 w, body weight gain between 1 and 8 w and shank length at 4 w (p < 0.05). The 25-OHD 125 μg/kg treatment had a lower shank length at 7 w, compared with the 25-OHD 69 μg/kg treatment. The shank length of the birds in each treatment reached the maximum (about 103 mm) at about 18 w of age. For the bone traits, the 25-OHD 125 μg/kg treatment had the lowest femur bone diameter at 20 w (p < 0.001) and femur bone plumpness at 20 w (p = 0.002). The 25-OHD 125 μg/kg treatment had a lower tibia strength at 10 w (p = 0.023) and keel length at 10 w (p = 0.046), compared with the 25-OHD 69 μg/kg treatment. However, both 25-OHD 69 and 125 μg/kg treatments had a greater femur strength at 72 w (p = 0.006), compared with the VD3 2800 IU/kg treatment. No difference in laying performance was observed among all treatments. The overall (21–72 w) ADFI in the 25-OHD 125 μg/kg treatment was significantly lower than that in the 25-OHD 69 μg/kg treatment (p = 0.030). At 60 w, the 25-OHD 125 μg/kg treatment had a lower eggshell thickness (p = 0.012) and proportion of eggshell (p = 0.022), compared with the 25-OHD 69 μg/kg treatment. No significant differences in egg quality parameters were observed at 50 and 70 w among treatments. In general, supplementary 2800 IU/kg doses of VD3 at the early stage were sufficient to maintain the bone quality and growth and development of pullets. Feeding birds at a higher 25-OHD level (125 μg/kg) resulted in the reduced ADFI and growth at the rearing period, but the long-term supplementation of 25-OHD as a VD3 substitute improved the bone quality in the late laying period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]