Effects of Varying Levels of Live Yeast Culture on Yield and Some Parameters in Laying Hen Diets

Abstract

Direct-fed microbes (DFM) include bacteria, yeast or combination of them which are added into diet. They are commonly used to enhance growth rate, feed efficiency and egg yield in poultry rations. Yeast cultures (YC) contain viable yeast, metabolites, and the media on which the yeast cells are grown (Bradley and Savage, 1995). The addition of live yeast cultures to chick diets have been used to improve egg production. (Nahashon et al., 1996), animal performance (Onifade et al., 1998; Purushotha-man and Natanam, 1999), enhance feed-efficiency (Kahraman et al., 1996), improve, fatty acid digestibility, and to reduce abdominal fat content (Lacroix et al., 1991). In contrast, Elbert et al. (1987), Brake (1991) and Lacroix et al. (loc. cit.) have reported no effect of dietary YC in balanced chicken diets. The aim of this study was to assess egg yield and quality in hens fed different levels of yeast culture at last period of laying.