Effect of Chickpea and Probiotics on Broiler Chicks’ Performance and Gut Microflora Populations

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate, for a period of 42 d, the effect of different levels (0, 10 and 20%) of raw chickpeas (CKP; Cicer arietinum L., cv. Burnas) seeds, as replacement of SBM, with and without probiotic addition on growth performance (GP). The impact of the treatments on the cecal microflora population, and pH at d 26 was also evaluated. A total of 720, unsexed 1-d-old Cobb 500 chicks were divided into 6 groups with 4 replicate pens (30 birds/replicate pen). Data were analyzed as a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement [3 levels of CKP with and without probiotic (3x108 cfu /kg diet of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014)]. The results showed that CKP up to 20% without probiotic in an optimized diet on digestible amino acid contents maintained broiler GP (2712.7-2696.2 g vs. 2718.5 g in SBM diet; P>0.05). The digestive organ sizes (i.e. gizzard, heart, liver, pancreas, small intestine, caecum) and pH of the cecal digesta were not affected by treatments. Probiotic addition was beneficially in modulating gut microflora composition. In particular, the cecal Lactobacillus (log10 cfu/g of wet digesta) and Enterococcus increased (P=0.04; P=0.52, respectively), whereas the coliforms decreased (P>0.05), compared with those without probiotic. It is concluded that probiotic addition in CKP diets had a beneficial effect on GP responses and cecal microflora populations.

Keywords

• broiler
• chickpea
• gut microflora
• probiotic