Poultry Studies
2018, Vol 15, Num, 1 (Pages: 001-005)
Effects of Dietary Butyric Acid Inclusion in Different Source of Grains Based Diets on Growth Performance and Intestinal Histomorphology in Broiler Chickens
2 Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Diseases, Veterinary Faculty, Ankara University, 06110, Diskapi, Ankara, Turkey.
3 Department of Histology and Embryology, Veterinary Faculty, Ankara University, 06110, Diskapi, Ankara, Turkey. - This study was conducted to determine the effects of butyric acid addition in corn-based or wheat/barley-based diets on growth performance and intestinal morphology of broilers. Two hundred and forty one-day old male broiler (Ross-308) chicks were assigned to 4 treatments in 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of dietary butyric acid (0 and 0.2%) and grains (corn and wheat/barley) with 4 replicate pens in each treatment, each having 15 birds. Feed and water was provided ad libitum throughout the experiment. Results indicated that dietary butyric acid supplementation in wheat/barley based diets had improving effects on body weight, body weight gain and feed intake at day 42 of experiment (p<0.05). Moreover, the addition of butyric acid in different source of grain based diets also improved the feed conversion ratio of birds at days 1-21 of the trial (p<0.001). Similarly, crypt depth of jejunum was significantly affected dietary butyric acid inclusion in birds at 21 day of age whereas villus height was higher in birds fed wheat/barley based diets (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). In conclusion, butyric acid supplementation to wheat/ barley based diets seems to be useful practice for broiler chickens. Keywords : Broiler, Butyric acid, Intestinal histomorphology, Grains, Performance
