Journal of Applied Poultry Research (Sep 2022)
Effects of feeding a probiotic blend on live performance of broiler chickens from 0 to 49 days of age
Abstract
SUMMARY: Probiotic use has increased as the use of antibiotics in broiler feeds has decreased. This has largely occurred due to a desire to maintain improvements in growth and feed conversion which had typically been observed from subtherapeutic use of antibiotics. As such, two (2) commercially applicable trials were conducted to examine the response from a proprietary blend of five (5) encapsulated Lactobacillus organisms (1-GP; Life Products, Inc.; Norfolk, NE), fed at different dosages across feed phases. In Trial 1, diets supplemented with 1-GP at 0.1%, providing 1,000,000 CFU/g of feed, gave the highest BW at d 14 and 42. In Trial 2, diets supplemented with 1-GP at or above 0.075% gave the best BW and FCRa at d 28. When 1-GP was removed from the diet between d 29 and 49, performance was the lowest, suggesting that 1-GP needs to be fed till time of market. When data were combined from the 2 trials and Quadratic Polynomial (QP) and Quadratic Broken Line (QBL) models were fit, diets supplemented with 1-GP at or above 0.075% gave the best BW and FCRa at d 28 as noted in Trial 2. Model analysis indicated, on average, that the optimal 1-GP inclusion was 0.115% and 0.100% for BW and FCRa, respectively for the 0 to 28 d growing period. Inclusion which maximized or minimized response was shown to be 0.130 and 0.155%, on average, for BW and FCRa, respectively for the 28 to 42 d growing period. This suggests that 1-GP inclusion should not be decreased in the latter phases of production.
