Lactic Acid Bacteria as a Substitute for Antibiotics in Broiler Chickens Raised Under Colored Environment
Article Sidebar
PDF downloads: 90
XML-Crossref downloads: 48
XML-DOAJ downloads: 46
Crossref Citations: 0
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: Antibiotics have been used to promote the growth performance of broiler chickens, but significant concerns about antibiotic resistance are driving interest in finding new alternatives to support growth performance. One promising additive is probiotics, which have shown positive impacts on broiler performance. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of probiotics (Lactic acid bacteria) on growth, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and immunity parameters such as corticosterone, compared to an antibiotic (virginiamycin) when chickens were raised in different colored environments.
Materials and methods: A total of 120 one-day-old male Cobb-500 chickens, with an average weight of 45 ± 2 grams, were randomly distributed into 12 white and 12 red pens (five chickens in each pen). Three dietary treatments were assigned and each contained 4 pens from each color and totally 8 pens for each treatment. Each treatment group consisted of 40 chickens, and four replicates. The dietary treatments included a control diet, the control diet supplemented with 4 cm³ of lactic acid-based probiotic bacteria (109 CFU/kg) per kilogram of feed, and the control diet supplemented with 0.4 grams of virginiamycin per kilogram of feed. On day 42, the chickens were sampled for evaluation of performance factors, corticosterone levels, foot-pad dermatitis, and villi length of Jejunum.
Results: The data showed that both probiotic and virginiamycin improved body weight and villi length compared to the control, while chickens supplemented with the probiotic in the white pens had a better growth rate compared to virginiamycin and the control. Corticosterone levels were reduced for both probiotic and virginiamycin compared to the control group, with stronger effects observed in the white pens. Chickens supplemented with either probiotic or virginiamycin demonstrated a lower incidence of foot-pad dermatitis in both pen color environments compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Supplementation of chickens with probiotic (4 cm3/kg, lactic acid bacteria; 109 CFU/kg) improved body weight similarly to virginiamycin, while a white environment can reduce chickens' stress, leading to better growth performance.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Miles RD, Butcher GD, Henry PR, and Littell RC. Effect of antibiotic growth promoters on broiler performance, intestinal growth parameters, and quantitative morphology. Poult Sci. 2006; 85(3): 476-485. DOI: 10.1093/ps/85.3.476
Dibner JJ, and Richards JD. Antibiotic growth promoters in agriculture: History and mode of action. Poult Sci. 2005; 84(4): 634-643. DOI: 10.1093/ps/84.4.634
Ahmadi F. The Effect of different levels of Virginiamycin on performance, immune organs and blood metabolite of broiler chickens. Ann Biol Res. 2011; 2(5): 291-298. Available at: https://www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com/articles/the-effect-of-different-levels-of-virginiamycin-on-performance-immune-organs-and-blood-metabolite-of-broiler-chickens.pdf
Liong MT. Probiotics: A critical review of their potential role as antihypertensives, immune modulators, hypocholesterolemics, and perimenopausal treatments. Nutr Rev. 2007; 65(7): 316-328. DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2007.tb00309.x
Ahmad I. Effect of probiotics on broilers performance. Int J Poult Sci. 2006; 5(6): 593-597. DOI: 10.3923/ijps.2006.593.597
Neal-McKinney JM, Lu X, Duong T, Larson CL, Call DR, Shah DH, et al. Production of organic acids by probiotic lactobacilli can be used to reduce pathogen load in poultry. Plos One. 2012; 7(9): e43928. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043928
Ibrahim RR, Khalil F, Mostafa AS, and Emeash HH. Efficacy of probiotic in improving welfare and mitigating overcrowding stress in broilers. J Adv Vet Res. 2018; 8(4): 73-78. Available at: https://advetresearch.com/index.php/AVR/article/view/325
Mahmud A, Saima S, Rafiullah R, and Ali I. Effect of different light regimens on performance of broilers. J Anim Plant Sci. 2011; 21(1): 104-106. Available at: https://thejaps.org.pk/docs/21(1)2011/EFFECT-OF-DIFFERENT.pdf
Bizeray D, Estevez I, Leterrier C, and Faure JM. Influence of increased environmental complexity on leg condition, performance, and level of fearfulness in broilers. Poult Sci. 2002; 81(6): 767-773. DOI: 10.1093/ps/81.6.767
Kutlu HR, and Forbes JM. Self-selection of ascorbic acid in coloured foods by heat-stressed broiler chicks. Physiol Behav. 1993; 53(1): 103-110. DOI: 10.1016/0031-9384(93)90017-A
Senaratna D, Samarakone TS, and Gunawardena WWDA. Red color light at different intensities affects the performance, behavioral activities and welfare of broilers. Asian-Aust J Anim Sci. 2015; 29(7): 1052-1059. DOI: 10.5713/ajas.15.0757
Nagaraj M, Wilson CAP, Hess JB, and Bilgili SF. Effect of high-protein and all-vegetable diets on the incidence and severity of pododermatitis in broiler chickens. J Appl Poult Res. 2007; 16(3): 304-312. DOI: 10.1093/japr/16.3.304
Mountzouris KC, Tsitrsikos P, Palamidi I, Arvaniti A, Mohnl M, Schatzmayr G, et al. Effects of probiotic inclusion levels in broiler nutrition on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma immunoglobulins, and cecal microflora composition. Poult Sci. 2010; 89(1): 58-67. DOI: 10.3382/ps.2009-00308
Ashour EA, Al-Ardhi SA, Abd El-Hack ME, Elsherbeni AI, Elolimy AA, Madkour M, et al. Effects of lactic acid and herbal blend as antibiotic alternatives on growth, carcass traits, blood chemistry, and microbial load in broiler chickens. Poult Sci. 2025; 104(5): 105050. DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105050
Rahimi G, Rezaei M, Hafezian H, and Saiyahzadeh H. The effect of intermittent lighting schedule on broiler performance. Int J Poult Sci. 2005; 4(6): 396-398. DOI: 10.3923/ijps.2005.396.398
Blanchard DC, and Blanchard RJ. Biology of aggression. In: Nelson RJ, editor. Stress and aggressive behaviors. 2006. p. 275-292. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195168761.003.0012
Shakeri M, Oskoueıan E, and Najafı P. Impact of diet supplemented by coconut milk on corticosterone and acute phase protein level under high stocking density. J Fac Vet Med Istanbul Univ. 2016; 42(1): 26-30. DOI: 10.16988/iuvfd.2016.80560