Authors : Reza Mahdavi and Mehran Torki
Abstract: This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of protected Butyric Acid (BA) glycerides on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract parameters, carcass traits, blood metabolites and humoral immune response of broiler chicks. Four hundred and eighty days-old unsexed Arbor-acres broiler chicks were randomly distributed between 48 battery pens. Four dietary inclusion of BA (0-2 or 3 g kg-1) on different (starting, growing and finishing) periods was tested. There was no significant difference in Body Weight (BW), Body Weight Gain (BWG), Feed Intake (FI), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and mortality among treatments (p>0.05). Chicks fed diets included 2 g BA kg-1 showed higher BWG during 0-21 days of age (p>0.05). The relative weights of breast, thighs, abdominal fat, liver, pancreases, gall bladder, spleen, bursa of fabricius, thymus and cecum to BW were not affected by experimental treatments (p>0.05). Dietary inclusion of BA significantly increased the relative weight of intestine segments as a percentage of body weight (p<0.05). The length of small intestine was affected by dietary inclusion of BA (p<0.05). Birds fed on diets included 3 g BA kg-1 during the whole rearing period (SGF3) presented longer small intestine as compared to the control group (p<0.05). The ileal pH as well as serum metabolites except calcium were not significantly affected by BA (p>0.05). Dietary butyric acid did not have a clear positive effect on performance of broilers reared under good hygiene conditions.
Reza Mahdavi and Mehran Torki, 2009. Study on Usage Period of Dietary Protected Butyric Acid on Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Serum Metabolite Levels and Humoral Immune Response of Broiler Chickens. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 8: 1702-1709.