Replacing Antibiotic with a Probiotic– Phytogenic Blend in Commercial Layers: Effects on Performances in a Two-Phase Field Trial

This study aimed to determine a probiotic Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis (S/L) combined with a phytogenic, combination Quliiaja and Yucca schidigera (QY) as a replacer antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) enramycin in commercial layers. The trial was conducted at commercial farm, Tangerang, Indonesia. In this treatment was used two control houses (6A, 6B) received enramycin 100 ppm, and two treatment houses (5A, 5B) received S/L 0.02% + QY 0.025%. At baseline (42 weeks of age). Laying hens population of control and treatment were 5,712 and 5,622 hens, respectively; performance was then monitored at 43–55 and 64–67 weeks of age. The variables were Hen-Day Production (HDP), daily feed intake (FI; g/hen/day), and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The data was analysis using Anova two factor. During weeks 43–51, HDP was significantly higher(P<0.05) in the enramycin control (93.07%) compared with AGP replacer group (90.92%). From weeks 52–67, HDP did not significantly different (p>0,05) between control and treatment (89.47% vs 88.91%). FCR favoured the control during weeks 43–51 (2.09 vs 2.14; P<0.05) but was not different during weeks 52–67 (2.18 vs 2.18). By the end of the trial (weeks 66–67), the AGP replacer group showed slightly higher HDP (90.1% vs 89.3–89.4%) and lower FCR (2.14 vs 2.16–2.17) than control. Across the study, FI was managed at approximately 115–116 g/hen/day. The conclusion of this trial showed that the S/L + QY program can replace enramycin in commercial layers with equivalent performance after an adaptation period; field evidence suggests at least ~8 weeks are needed to achieve parity, with potential performance improvements after ~12 weeks.