Effect of Organic Acids and Probiotics on Performance, Digestibility, Intestinal Histomorphology and Plasma Metabolites Level of Broiler Chicken

Abstract

The present study was carried out at the Poultry Research Farm belonging to Animal and Fish Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, during July to August 2008. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance of broiler chickens fed diets containing probiotic, increasing levels of organic acids (lactic, formic and propionic acids) or mixture of them on the performance, digestibility coefficients of nutrients, carcass meat quality and plasma blood constituents. In addition, Histopathologic study on the intestine and proventriculus was conducted. Two hundred and sixty-four, 7-day old unsexed Arbor Akers broiler chicks were used in this study. Chicks were divided randomly into eleven groups with twenty-four chicks in each group and each sub-group was allotted into three replicates (8 each). Chicks in all experimental groups were fed a basal starter diet from 7 to 21 days of age, a basal grower diet from 22 to 42 days of age. The basal diets were un-supplemented or supplemented with the following: R 1• Basal diet only without supplementation (Served as control). R2• Basal diet + 0.1 % probiotic Super Bio-Buds R3. Basal diet + 0.15% lactic acid Basal diet + 0.30 % lactic acid R5• Basal diet + 0.15% formic acid Basal diet + 0.30 % formic acid R7. Basal diet + 0.04 %propionic acid Rs. Basal diet + 0.08 %propionic acid R9. Basal diet + (0.075 lactic acid+ 0.075 formic acid+ 0.1 % probiotic) R 10• Basal diet+ (0.15 lactic acid+ 0.15 formic acid + 0.1 %probiotic) Rn. Basal diet+ (0.075 lactic acid+ 0.075 formic acid+ 0.04% propionic acid+ 0.1 %probiotic) The main obtained results could be summarized as follows: 1. Addition of probiotic to the basal diet of broiler chicks insignificantly enhanced the increase in live body weight of broiler chicks at 3 and 6 weeks of age by 1.98 and 7.94 %, respectively, as compared with the control group. Addition of lactic acid at level 0.15 and 0.3 % insignificantly increased live body weights at 6 weeks of age reached to 3.79 and 2.51 %from the control group. The same results were recorded by inclusion of formic acid at 0.15 and 0.3 % level or propionic acid at 0.04 % level in the diet as inclusion of lactic acid, however, propionic acid at 0.08 % level resulted in significant deterioration in live body weight at 3 weeks of age reached to 9.06% as compared with the control group. The highest body weight value was recorded by birds received the combination of lactic acid (0.15 %) + formic acid (0.15 %) as compared with organic acids fed groups at 6 weeks of age.