The experiment was conducted to study the effects of supplementing a broiler starter diet with the probiotic Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 10415 and dried whey (80% lactose) on chick performance, gut histomorphology and intestinal microbiota. One-day-old male Ross 308 strain broiler chickens were fed diets containing: (i) control feed, (ii) control + 3.5% dried whey, (iii) control + 0.2% E. faecium, and (iv) control + 3.5% dried whey + 0.2% E. faecium. Birds were maintained in battery brooders confined in an environmentally controlled experimental room. The experiment lasted for 21 days. Birds fed E. faecium or E. faecium + dried whey exhibited significantly improved weight gain and feed conversion rate (FCR). Weight gain and FCR of treatment groups 1-4 were 628.7, 657.8, 690.9, 689.3 and 1.218, 1.193, 1.107, 1.116, respectively. Lactic acid bacteria counts in both the ileal content and excreta were significantly affected by dietary treatment. Supplementation of the E. faecium and dried whey separately and in combination increased lactic acid bacteria colonization in the ileal content from 4.2 to 5.0, 7.8 and to 5.1 log cfu/g, respectively (treatments 1-4). Similarly, supplementation of dried whey and E. faecium separately and in combination increased lactic acid bacteria in the excreta from 5.3 to 5.5, 8.0 and to 7.2 log cfu/g, respectively. Addition of the probiotic E. faecium increased villus height in the ileum (p < 0.05). Thus, supplementation of E. faecium enhanced broiler chick performance with respect to weight gain and FCR. No additive effect of E. faecium and dried whey was detected. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between E. faecium and dried whey with respect to gut histomorphology.
Day-old male chicks were used to test the effects of a combination of formic and propionic acids (CFP) added to wheat-and barley-based diets on the performance and gut histomorphology of broilers. The CFP, containing formic and propionic acids based on an inorganic phyllo-silicate carrier, was added to starter and grower broiler diets of standard (NRC, 1994) or lower nutrient density (LND) using different levels of wheat and barley. Body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of broiler chicks were significantly (P < 0.001) improved by CFP supplementation at 21 days of age regardless of nutrient density (ND). However, at 35 days of age CFP addition significantly (P < 0.001) increased BWG and FCR. Proventriculus weight was also significantly affected by the dietary treatments. Ileal viscosity was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by ND which was associated with wheat and barley contents, whereas feed viscosity was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by CFP supplementation. Villus height was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by the CFP supplementation. In the case of villus width, an interaction effect was observed: there was a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the group fed the standard ND diet, but only a numerical decrease in the group fed the LND diet compared to control group. No significant effect of dietary treatment on the thickness of the lamina muscularis mucosae could be detected.
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