1. It can improve the effect of anticoccidial drugs in broilers

Betaine can effectively stabilize the normal intestinal function of broiler chickens affected by coccidiosis and improve the anti-coccidial effect.

Coccidiosis is a serious threat to broiler production, with occasional outbreaks of coccidiosis despite widespread use of anticoccidial drugs. Jeng et al. (1981) showed that in broiler chickens infected with coccidiosis, protein and carbohydrate digestion was insufficient, and the absorption of lipochrome was blocked. In addition, broiler chickens infected with coccidiosis have reduced body resistance and are susceptible to other diseases [8]. Coccidia also affect intestinal ion balance and alter the physical properties of the intestine such as intestinal length. In addition to affecting the ion concentration of parasite cells, ionophore anticoccidial drugs may also change the ion balance of the host animal, especially the intestinal ions, which may affect the normal function of the intestinal tract. As a cell ion osmoprotectant, betaine can effectively stabilize intestinal ion balance.

Finnish Cultor company (1994) research shows that when broiler chickens are infected with coccidiosis, adding betaine can significantly improve the effect of anticoccidial drugs, compared with the control group (adding coccidial drugs), adding betaine significantly improves the growth of broilers speed and feed conversion ratio. Finland (1995) studied the effect of betaine on nutrient digestibility in coccidiosis-infected broilers. The test chickens were inoculated with Eimeria coccidia at 14 days of age, and an anticoccidial drug (salinomycin) was added. The study showed that the digestibility of the main nutrients (dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, lysine) measured at 21 days of age in the test group supplemented with betaine was significantly higher than that in the control group. was 75.40%, the test group was 80.49%, and the broiler chickens not infected with coccidiosis were 83.18%. At the same time, it was found that although anticoccidial drugs can reduce the mortality of broilers, they have no effect on improving the feed conversion rate. Matthews et al. (1995) studied the interaction between betaine and monensin (an anticoccidial drug), and the results also showed that although 55 mg/kg of monensin can effectively prevent the death of chickens infected with coccidiosis, it cannot. Improve the utilization rate of feed, while 55mg/kg of monensin plus 0.10% betaine can significantly improve the utilization rate of feed.

2. Improve the egg production rate and feed conversion rate of laying hens

Adding betaine to feed can improve laying hens' egg production rate and feed conversion rate, and improve egg quality. Ralcin et al. (1995) reported that adding 100 mg/kg betaine to the diet could significantly improve the performance of laying hens. Zheng Changfeng et al. (1998) added 1000 mg/kg betaine to the diet of laying hens, the egg production rate increased by 11.08%, the feed-to-egg ratio decreased by 10.36%, and the egg weight increased with the increase of betaine in the diet. The effect of reducing broken eggs and abnormal eggs (P<0.05) can improve egg quality, promote the synthesis of concentrated protein and egg yolk (P<0.05), and reduce the content of cholesterol in egg yolk. Wang Ruojun et al. (1999) used betaine to replace 50% methionine or 100% methionine in the late stage of egg production, which could alleviate the decline of egg production rate in the late stage of egg production, thereby improving the feed conversion rate.