EFFICACY OF MEDIUM CHAIN FATTY ACIDS AND SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF BROILER

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effect of medium chain fatty acids and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on performance in broiler chicks. A field trial was carried out with 200 broiler chicks ((Lohman) in four groups, treatment group one (T1); treatment group two (T2); treatment group three (T3) and another was control group (C). The treatment group (T1) received a standard feed with commercially available medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae type boulardii 2.0x1010 CFU/gm), treatment group (T2) received a standard feed with medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), treatment group (T3) received a standard feed with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae type boulardii 2.0x1010 CFU/gm) and control group (C) received standard feed without MCFA and S. cerevisiae. Experimental treatment was fed with MCFA (2 gm/ kg feed for 10 days, 1.5 gm/kg feed for next 10 days, 1gm/ kg feed for 8 days) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (0.2gm/ kg feed for 10 days, 0.15 gm/ kg feed for 10 days, 0.1 gm/ kg feed for 8 days) during the experiment. The birds were reared for 4 weeks. At the end of the study, body weight, weekly weight gain, feed consumption, FCR and mortality rate were recorded. Data analyses had shown that the final average body weight and average weight gain of the birds belonging to the groups T1, T2 and T3 were higher (p< 0.01) than the control group. FCR was lowered (p<0.05) 1.36, 1.37, 1.38 for the birds group T1, T3 and T2 respectively as compared to control group. There was no significance difference between the treatment group T2 and T3 but there was significance difference between the treatment group and control group (p<0.10) in terms of feed consumption. In case of livability, there was significant difference among birds group T1, T2, T3 and control group (p<0.01). Data analyses of organ weight showed that the addition of MCFA and SC birds group (T1) in diets of broiler chickens significantly increased (p<0.01) the weight of intestine with chymus by 41%, intestine without chymus 17%, gizzard 5%, head 8% and neck 11% compared with control group. No significant differences were observed among the experimental groups for liver, spleen and pancreas weight.