Effects of Feeding Recycled Food Waste-Based Diets on Gut Health, Nutrient Digestibility, and Bone Quality in Laying Hens

This study explored feeding recycled food waste-based diets for gut health, nutrient digestibility, bone morphology, and bone mineral level in laying hens. Hy-Line Brown laying hens (n = 150) were randomly allocated to three experimental treatments consisting of a commercial control diet, a recycled food waste-based diet, and a 50:50 blend of the control and food waste-based diets, with 50 replicates of a single bird per cage per treatment from 24 to 63 weeks of age. Egg production was recorded daily and feed intake was measured weekly. The gut pH, jejunal and ileal morphology, nutrient digestibility, bone morphology, and mineral composition were measured at 63 weeks of age. Hens on the food waste-based treatment had similar egg production but lower feed conversion ratio (FCR, 1.948 vs. 2.172 kg feed/kg egg, p < 0.001) and higher ileal pH (p < 0.001) and bone ash content (p < 0.001) compared to birds on the control treatment. Moreover, hens fed the food waste-based diets had higher ileal digestible energy (p < 0.001); ileal energy digestibility (p < 0.01); tibia S, Fe, Mn, and Zn levels (p < 0.05); and Mg, K, S, Mn, and Mo digestibility (p < 0.05) compared to hens fed the control diets. Hens offered the 50:50 blend diets had higher tibia P, Mg, and Mo levels (p < 0.05) and higher Ca digestibility (p < 0.05) compared to those fed the control diets. Thus, feeding recycled food waste-based diets is effective to improve laying performance, nutrient digestibility, and bone mineralization in laying hens.