The poultry digestive tract is not comparable to that of ruminants or horses, so why feed dietary fiber to poultry? The answer lies in the dependency of poultry on a balanced microbiota in the hindgut. To maintain eubiosis in the large intestine, fermentable dietary fiber must be provided as a nutritional basis and energy source for gut bacteria. Inadequate supply can lead to an imbalance of gut flora, degradation of the mucus layer, and issues such as wet litter, dirty eggs, feather pecking, and cannibalism. These problems negatively impact poultry health and performance.