Fermented Astragalus in diet improved laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant and immunological status and intestinal microbiota in laying hens

AMB Express

Table 1 Composition and nutrient levels of the basal diet (air-dry basis %)

Ingredients	Content	Nutrient levels	Content
Corn	61.4	ME/(MJ/kg)^b	11.01
Soybean meal	23.8	CP	15.49
Wheat bran	2.0	Ca	3.50
Soybean oil	0.6	TP	0.56
CaHPO₄	1.3	AP	0.35
Limestone	8.6	Lys	0.74
NaCl	0.3	Met + Cys	0.51
Premix^a	2.0
Total	100.0

^a The premix provided the following per kilogram of the diet: VA 11,000 IU, VD₃ 3200 IU, VE 25 IU, VK₃ 2.2 mg, VB₁ 1.5 mg, VB₂ 3.5 mg, VB₁₂ 3 mg, nicotinic 28 mg, calcium pantothenate 8.5 mg, biotin 0.5 mg, choline 255 mg, Fe 55 mg, Zn 62 mg, Cu 6 mg, Se 0.20 mg
^b ME was a calculated value, while the others were measured values