EFFECTS OF POULTRY ENHANCER (RE3) AND ANTIBIOTIC ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND NUTRIENT UTILIZATION OF BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of direct fed microbial (RE3) and antibiotic Fysal P* on the growth and nutrient digestibility of Marshall Strain of broiler chickens. Two hundred and forty day old Marshal Strain of broiler chicks of average weight of 37-42 grammes was used for the experiment. The birds were randomly divided into 3 groups of 4 replicates of 20 birds each to make a total of 80birds per treatment in a completely randomized design experiment. Three diets were formulated as follows Diet I was the control without probiotic or antibiotic, Diet 2 - control diet plus probiotic RE3 (1.5 millilitre to I kilogram of feed, Diet 3 - control diet plus antibiotic (2 grammes to Ikilogramme). The experiment lasted for 8 weeks. The final weight total weight gain, feed cost per kg and daily weight gain were not significantly (P>0.05) affected by the treatment. The feed to gain ratio, feed cost per kg weight gain, total cost of drug per bird, total feed intake and daily feed intake were all significantly (P<0.05) affected by the treatment. The digestibility of nutrients except nitrogen free extract was not significantly (P>0.05) affected by dietary treatment. It was concluded that the use of direct fed (RE3) supplementation improved daily weight gain, decreased feed: gain ratio as well as the cost of production and generally improved performance of the birds. Its obvious advantage over antibiotics makes it a recommended alternative to antibiotics.