Open AccessEffects of a symbiotic on coccidian infestation and zootechnical performances in broilers
Author(s) -
Chama Ammari,
Nora Mimoune,
Rachid Kaidi,
M. Marrakchi,
Djamel Khalef
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
veterinarska stanica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.173
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1849-1170
pISSN - 0350-7149
DOI - 10.46419/vs.53.5.1
Subject(s) - coccidiosis , zoology , biology , broiler , feed conversion ratio , infestation , veterinary medicine , body weight , medicine , agronomy , endocrinology
Coccidiosis remains an obstacle for the poultry sector worldwide, including Algeria. In the field of food biosecurity, symbiotics are used with the aim of improving zootechnical performance of chickens, and combatting the negative effects of this parasitosis. This study compared two broiler farms with 12,000 chickens of the Arbor Acres strain, where chickens on one farm received supplementation with symbiotics. Weight of 144 animals, mortality, food and water consumption were measured, and consumption (CI) and conversion indices were calculated. For parasitology, droppings were collected and the intestinal contents of 10% of animals were collected. Data showed that at 43 days, the supplemented group had a weight of 2750 g as compared to the control that had a weight of 2630 g, with an average consumption of 4834 g vs. 5087g per animal, CI of 1.62–1.35–0.81 vs. 1.65–1.52–0.89, the conversion index of 1.9 vs. 2.07, and mortality rate of 9.29% vs. 10.37%, respectively. Oocyst excretion was zero at the farm receiving supplementation vs. 0, 100, and 550 OPG in the control group on days 15, 21 and 28, respectively, parasite infestation was 41,600 OPG, 32,800 OPG, and 30,500 OPG vs. 800 OPG, 1,100 OPG and 1,200 OPG, respectively. For prevalence, several species of Eimeria were identified in the control. The means found in this study support the use of symbiotics, and efforts to improve the formula of the symbiotics should yield even better results.