Improvements in hen performance, egg quality and environmental impact of egg production are claimed by Alltech for its new layers' dietary supplement, Bio-Mos.

The company's latest meta-analysis shows that when incorporated at 1kg per tonne, it increased hen day production by 1.76%, a decreased feed efficiency rate of 26.64g of feed per kg of eggs produced.

Enhanced protein output was also observed, as the egg mass increased by 0.95g per day per hen and produced a better-quality egg, with eggshell thickness increased by 0.05mm.

“A strong focus on optimising the gut health of birds is crucial to enable egg producers to navigate the increasing production challenges threatening their birds' productivity and bottom line,” said Dr Saheed Salami, research fellow at Alltech.

“This meta-analysis has confirmed that Bio-Mos is an effective nutritional solution for improving gut health and egg production efficiency while contributing positively to the sustainability performance of egg production.”

Feed and total emission intensities were used as metrics for quantifying the environmental performance of feeding the supplement, which showed that it decreased feed and total emission intensities of egg production by -1.3% and -1.5%, respectively.

The environmental benefits attributed to the study results were equivalent to a reduction of 890 tonnes of CO2-equivalent for 62 weeks of egg production from a flock of 1m birds. This carbon emission savings is equivalent to 583 fewer cars on the road, 1035 intercontinental return flights and 600 houses’ use of electricity.

“Sustainability is growing in importance and in my mind, it is the new non-negotiable, in just the same way that food safety and welfare are non-negotiable,” added Dr Jules Taylor-Pickard, global director of gut health management at Alltech.

“This novel meta-analysis demonstrates that sustainability can improve productivity in a profitable manner – helping ensure a better outlook for future generations.”

Bio-Mos is a product derived from a select strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast using a proprietary process developed by Alltech and is incorporated into birds’ diets to support their performance. Effective during all phases of growth, it is designed to feed the gastrointestinal tract, thereby maximising performance and profitability.