Comparison Of Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Yeast Cell Wall And Rice Hulles On Counteracting Aflatoxin In Broiler Chicken Diets

Abstract

One hundred and fifty unsexed one day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were used up to 32 days of age to study effects of Hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAC); Yeast Cell Wall (YCW); Rice Hulls (as an unconventional adsorbent, RH) and Ashed Rice Hulls (ARH) on growth performance, carcass characteristics and some blood metabolites. Chicks were divided into 5 treatments, each with 3 replicates of 10 chicks each. Chicks of control group was received the basal diets (0.030 and 0.035 mg/kg total aflatoxin in starter (1-18 days) and grower (19-32 days) diet, respectively. Treatments were the control; 2.0g (HSCAS, T1); 20.0g (RH, T2); 20.0g (ARH, T3) and 1.0 g Mycofix plus (YCW, T4) per kg diets. Effect of treatments on body weight gain was only significant at starter period. HSCAS treatment (T1) and RH (T2) significant (P<0.05) increased body weight and gain at 18 days of age, while the effect of different treatments were not significant at the full period (0-32 days). HSCAS treatment (T1) and RH (T2) significantly (P<0.05) increased feed intake at starter and overall periods. While only YCW (T4) resulted in a significant reduction in feed intake (P<0.05) and numerically improved feed conversion ratio during starter period. Moreover, during the overall period YCW (T4) gave numerically the same figures in (body weight and gain, feed consumption or feed conversion ratio) compared the control diets for broiler chickens. Carcass characteristics were not significantly affected by different dietary treatments except total edible parts %. Chicks fed RH (T2) diets presented highest significantly (P<0.05) total edible parts compared to control group. Similarly, experimental treatments had no significant effect on all measured (Tibia bone and blood plasma) parameters except ALT activity and chicks fed control diets reflected the lowest significantly (P<0.05) figures ALT activity compared with other treatments (T1-4).