THE INFLUENCE OF VARIED ACETYLSALICYLIC ACID AND SODIUM CHLORIDE LEVELS ON PERFORMANCE, CLOACAL AND AXILLARY TEMPERATURES OF ISA WHITE COCKS

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to investigate the combined influence of varied inclusion of sodium chloride (NaCl) and supplemental levels of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on performance, cloacal and axillary temperatures of Isa White cocks. Four diets with different NaCl and ASA levels of 0.25/0.00% (Diet I or DI), 0.50/0.05% (D2), 0.75/0.10% (D3) and 1.00/0.15% (D4) respectively were formulated. The DI served as the control diet. These diets were fed to the cocks throughout the eight weeks of the experiment during which data on weight change, feed consumption, cloacal and axillary temperatures were taken. The ambient temperature and relative humidity in the mornings (6.00 hour) afternoons (12.00 hour) and evenings (18.00 hour) were recorded from which the respective temperature-humidity indices (THI) were calculated. The results showed significant differences in final live weight, weight change, feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among the different diets. The best FCR was observed in D3 while weight change was better enhanced in the D2 and D3 diets. The morning, afternoon and evening cloacal and axillary temperatures decreased (p<0.05) as the levels of NaCl and ASA increased in the diets. The respective THI for the mornings, afternoons and evenings were 18.36±0.53, 20.79±0.79 and 16.89±0.55. The decrease in the core body temperature of the birds showed that using 0.15% ASA and 1.00% NaCl in combination can help mitigate the harmful effects of high ambient temperature. Also, the combined effect of 0.10% ASA and 0.75% NaCl would optimally enhance feed consumption, feed efficiency and growth in Isa White breeder cocks.