EFFECT OF DIETARY PROBIOTICS AND ENZYMES ADDITION ON BROILER PERFORMANCE, CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS AND INTESTINAL MORPHOLOGY

This study investigated the impact of using probiotic Pediococcus acidilactici (PRO), phytase (PHY) and xylanase (XYL) on growth performance, including carcass characteristics and intestinal morphology of 210-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks. The chicks were divided into seven dietary treatments of 3 replicates with 10 birds each for 35 days. Experimental groups were T1 which was fed a basal diet; T2 fed a control diet with 100 g of probiotic /ton feed; T3 fed a control diet with 100 g of phytase /ton feed; T4 fed a control diet with 100 g of xylanase /ton feed; T5 fed control diet with 100 g of phytase + 100 g xylanase /ton feed; T6 fed control diet with 100 g xylanase + 100 g Probiotic/ton feed and T7 fed control diet with 100 g phytase + 100 g of probiotic /ton feed, respectively. Results showed no significant differences between treatments in total growth performance except for giblets; however, the treatment with supplemental PHY+XYL (T5) had a 5.15% increase in BWG compared with the control group. Spleen and bursa weight were significantly affected by dietary treatments, where chicks fed either PRO+XYL or PRO were recorded as having the highest intestinal villi height and villi/ crypt ratio compared to the control. It could be concluded that the dietary supplementation of 100 g xylanase + 100 g probiotic/ ton feed or phytase at 500 FTU/kg diet + β-xylanase at 1600 BXU/kg resulted in enhanced growth performance, gut morphology and carcass characteristics in broiler chickens.Keywords: Xylanase, phytase, probiotic, broiler performance