engleski

Effect of microencapsulated dry chestnut wood extract and salts of butyric acid on production parameters of broiler chickens and laying hens

Three studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of microencapsulated dry chestnut wood extract and salts of butyric acid on production performance of broiler chickens and laying hens. The experiment on broilers was conducted on 120 male Ross 308 chickens in the experimental facilities of the Faculty of Veterinary medicine in Zagreb. Animals were divided into groups of 20 animals and were assigned to randomized treatments (0, 250 and 500 g/t) with two replications per treatment. The group that received 500 g/t of feed achieved the best results of average body weight (2.943 kg) and feed efficiency (1.55kg of feed per kilogram of gain) at the end of the investigated period (day 42.). After slaughter, there was no significant difference in dressing percentage and weight of the liver. During the study were no significant differences in mortality between groups. The trials on laying hens were conducted on two commercial layer farms in Croatia. The diet of layers was supplemented with 500 g/t of additive to evaluate its effect on performance and health status. The trials lasted for 32 weeks (18th week until 50th week) and 13 weeks (16th week until 28th week) of layers age and were conducted on 31, 770 and 92, 887 birds, respectively. The birds were divided into two groups (experimental and control) and monitored for production results and health status. The experimental group of layers on Farm 1 achieved higher egg production (209.2 vs. 200.1), had better feed conversion (2.13 vs. 2.35) and had significantly lower mortality (2.9% vs. 6.9%) in the observed period. The control birds had significantly higher ADFI (122.7g vs. 115g) and there was no difference in the mass of produced eggs. The supplemented animals on Farm 2 had higher egg production (786.7 vs. 765.4), a better feed to egg ratio (142g vs. 150g) and a significantly lower mortality (0.6% vs. 1.4%) during the trial. Overall, we can conclude that the tested feed additive had a positive influence on the majority of production parameters that were monitored and can be recommended to the industry as a safe and effective way to increase production efficiency.

Broilers, Butyric acid, Chestnut extract, Laying hens, Performance

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