Abstract

The present study aimed to find out the efficacy of a commercial probiotics supplementation to the diet on the growth performance, histological changes of the jejunal tissue and humoral immune response of broiler chickens. One hundred day old broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups as group A (Vaccinated probiotics fed group), B (Non-vaccinated probiotics fed group), C (Vaccinated conventional fed group) and D (Non-vaccinated conventional fed group). Groups A and B were taken as experimental birds fed with commercially available feed with the addition of probiotics as per schedule whereas groups C and D were taken as control birds fed with commercial ration. At 30 days of age the birds were immunized with 0.5% of sheep RBC to determine the level of antibody production. The result revealed that the live weight gains obtained were significantly (p<0.01) increased more in experimental birds during the periods of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th week of age compare to control ones at all levels in both vaccinated and non-vaccinated birds. The broiler fed with probiotics gave a strong evidence of increasing the length of jejunal villi compared to conventional fed broiler observed. The antibody production was found significantly (p<0.01) higher in probiotics fed broiler than the control ones. Significant variations were observed in the weight of bursa and spleen due to probiotics supplementation. It was concluded that probiotics supplementation have a significant influence on growth performance, meat yield, morphological changes of intestinal wall and immune response of broiler chickens.

Keywords:

Broilers, cellular alteration, growth performance, immune response, probiotics,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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The authors have no competing interests.