Supplemental effect of bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar, alone or in combination, on laying hen performance, egg quality, intestinal bacterial populations and alteration of intestinal villi

Abstract

This experiment aimed to determine the effects of bamboo charcoal (BC), bamboo vinegar (BV) and their combinations in laying hen diet on performance, egg quality, intestinal bacterial populations and alteration of intestinal villi. A total of 450 Hy-Line Brown hens aged 40 weeks were divided into 9 treatment groups, with 5 replicates per treatment and 10 hens per replicate. They were fed diets with 0% BC and BV (control), 0.5% BC, 1% BC, 0.3% BV, 0.6% BV, 0.5% BC + 0.3% BV (BCV53), 0.5% BC + 0.6% BV (BCV56), 1% BC + 0.3% BV (BCV13) or 1% BC + 0.6% BV (BCV16) from 40 to 56 weeks of age. The overall feed conversion ratio was better in all supplemented groups than in the control (p