With the shift toward more ethical and sustainable egg production, the poultry industry is now increasingly shifting towards extended laying cycle. However, extending the production period raises critical concern about the health and welfare of aging laying hens (ALH). A primary challenge is progressive intestinal inflammaging, characterized by compromised barrier integrity, immune dysregulation, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. These changes collectively impair nutrient absorption, reproductive performance, and egg quality. Despite advances in genetics and management, extending production beyond 72 weeks remains challenging. This review concludes that inflammaging in ALH is driven by an age-related shift in gut homeostasis involving intestinal barrier, immune function, microbiota dysbiosis and short chain fatty acids, and emphasized the mechanisms that promote intestinal inflammaging. Secondly, it also evaluated emerging nutritional interventions over the past decade including polyphenols, probiotics, fermented feed stuff, and enzyme supplementation, which showed promising results in restoring gut health and enhancing production performance. Based on this review we propose that substantial research gaps persist, particularly concerning the temporal dynamics of gut aging beyond 72 weeks and the long-term efficacy of nutritional interventions. Longitudinal studies are essential to clarify these aspects. Furthermore, optimizing nutritional strategies based on a deeper understanding of gut aging mechanisms offers a pathway to extend laying cycles and achieve sustainable, high-quality egg production.

To Cite This Article: Ali A, Wang H, Akhtar M, Melaku M, lqbal W, Ma T, Chen L and Zhang H, 2026. Balancing the aging gut: nutrition as a strategy against intestinal inflammaging in laying hens. Pak Vet J, 46(4): 779-789. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2026.065