THE EFFECTS OF BUTYRIC ACID SUPPLEMENTED DIETS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ANTIBIOTICS GROWTH PROMOTERS IN TURKEY POULTS.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.6996Keywords:
Butyric acid, Growth performance, Turkey poultsAbstract
The effects of butyric acid supplemented diets on growth performance as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters was examined in a 28-day experiment using one hundred and sixty (160) (one-day old) Nicholas turkey poults. The experimental design was a Completely Randomised Block Design. Poults were brooded for 7 days, after which they were allotted to 4 dietary treatments with 5 replicates of 8 birds per replicate. Treatment 1 was the basal diet with no supplements while treatments 2, 3, and 4 were supplemented with antibiotics, 0.2% butyric acid and 0.4% butyric acid respectively. The inclusion of butyric acid to the corn-soya based diets did not positively affect the final weight and weight gain of birds at the end of the first 28 days of the feeding trial.