EFFECT OF AN EARLY NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT ON BROILER PERFORMANCE

N.V. Jadhav, Basavaraj Awati, Vivek M. Patil, D.T. Naik, Srikant Kulkarni, M.D. Suranagi, K. Ravikanth, Adarsh

ABSTRACT
135 day old commercial broiler chicks were randomly divided in to 3 groups (n=45, 3 replicates). Group T0- unsupplemented control group, Group T1, supplemented with Chikimune @ 6 g paste/chick/day and Group T2, supplemented with Chikimune @ 8 g paste/chick/day (Chikimune supplemented for first two days at poultry farm and no feed was offered during this period). Immune modulatory effect, dressing yield, histo-pathology of intestine along with weight of lymphoid organs and biochemical parameters were studied respectively. The results revealed that Chikimune supplementation significantly (P<0.05) improved the average final body weight (g) (group T1-1788.42, group T2-1831.00) when compared with control (group T0-1742. 35). Lymphoid organs weight also improved in Chikimune supplemented birds. Biochemical investigations recorded comparable improved values (mg/dl) of blood biochemical parameters in supplemented birds. The antibody titer against Ranikhet disease at 3rd and 5th week in treated groups was notably higher (1: 128/256) than non-treated broilers (1:16/32) indicating better immunity set-up. Chikimune supplementation was efficacious in improving immunity and decreasing the incidence of mortality in chicks.
Keywords: Early feeding, FCR, HI Titer, biochemical parameters

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