Effects of Dietary Level of Corn Bran on Laying Performance and Cecum Microbial Communities in Laying Ducks

Abstract

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 Pediococcus and decreased Bifidobacterium and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group at the genus level (p Lactobacillus and Pediococcus (p 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.

Keywords

• corn bran
• laying duck
• laying performance
• microbial communities