Performance of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with a direct-fed microbial

Abstract

From hatch to 18 d of age broilers were fed starter diets with (0.9 kg/ton) or without direct fed microbial (DFM). At 18 d, birds were weighed and, within DFM treatment (trt), randomly assigned to battery pens. In Exp 1, a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of nutrient density [control (C, 19.3% protein (CP), 0.84%, Ca 0.37% nonphytin P (nPP); and 17.1% CP, 0.8% Ca, and 0.3% nPP in the grower (Gr) and finisher (Fn) diets, respectively) and moderate (M) (17% CP, 0.69% Ca, 0.30% nPP; 15% CP, 0.66% Ca, 0.25% nPP in the Gr and Fn diets, respectively)] and DFM concentration [0 or 0.9 kg/ton (++)] was used. Exp 2 was a 2 (DSM at 0 and 0.45 kg/ton) x 3 (nutrient densities) factorial. Exp 2 included a low (L) nutrient density that differed from diet M only in Ca and nPP concentrations and an added trt, diet M with 0.45 kg/ ton DFM as in Exp 1. At the end of the Gr and Fn weight, feed efficiency, apparent nutrient retention were determined, and 4 birds per pen were sampled for tibia ash. In Exp 2, gains in the Gr phase were 1,122.0, 983.7, 1,121.5, 930.7, and 1,151.5 g in birds fed the C, M, M+, L, and L+ diets, respectively. Addition of DFM to the M diet overcame the negative effect of nutrient concentration on performance but not when the L diet was fed. Nutrient level and DFM affected apparent protein, Ca, and P retention at 32 or 42 d of age with retention increasing as nutrient level decreased and with DFM added to the diet. Ca and P retention at 28 d (Exp 1) was higher in birds fed M++ (45.8 and 46%, respectively) than in those fed the C diet (38.7 and 40.0%, respectively). Feeding the M and L diets resulted in lower tibia ash than that of birds fed the C diet, but the addition of DFM to low nutrient diets overcame this negative effect.

Effects of organic acid and probiotic on performance and gut morphology in broiler chickens

“…Generally, there are inconsistencies in reports in the literature on the beneficial effects of probiotics and organic acids on broiler growth performance. Angel et al (2005) recorded that under favourable rearing conditions, without disease or stress, dietary supplementation with probiotics had no beneficial effects on broiler growth performance. In a study by Timmerman et al (2006), it was reported that the positive effects of probiotics on highperformance broilers were lower than in low-performing birds.…”

“…Organic acids, probiotics and prebiotics have been shown to reduce serum cholesterol and the abdominal fat of broiler chickens (Yusrizal & Chen, 2003;Gaggia et al, 2010), increase performance, improve resistance to pathogenic bacteria colonization and enhance host mucosa immunity, resulting in reduced pathogen load and improved health status of the animal (Yalcinkaya et al, 2008). Angel et al (2005), Yang et al (2008) and Pirgozliev et al (2008) reported beneficial effects of dietary additives such as organic acids and probiotics on energy and protein utilization in poultry. Some studies have been conducted to determine the effects of these feed additives on growth indices, serum biochemical parameters and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens (Ashayerizadeh et al, 2011).…”

Variations on the Efficacy of Probiotics in Poultry

“…Working with broilers, Angel et al (2005) demonstrated that the addition of probiotics based on Lactobacillus (0.9kg/ton) in feed has improved the retention of calcium and phosphorus by birds receiving feed that supply to their nutritional demands. However, birds receiving moderate density (18% less calcium and phosphorus in relation to the recommendation of the National Research Council -NRC) and low density feed (25% less calcium and phosphorus in relation to the recommendation by NRC) supplemented with probiotics presented bone breaking resistance and ash concentration in tibia similar to those receiving the control feed, without addition of additive.…”

Performance and Cecal Bacteria Counts of Broilers Fed Low Protein Diets With and Without a Combination of Probiotic and Prebiotic

“…Also, their positive effects on protein utilization have been indicated. Angel et al (2005) found that broilers fed diets containing lower levels of nutrients (protein, calcium and available phosphorus) had poorer performance than the control group, but supplementation of those diets with probiotic, improved nutrients retention and thus prevented their negative effects. In another study, it was shown that supplementation with a prebiotic, improved the performance of broilers fed with LPD (Torres-Rodriguez et al, 2005).…”