Effects of dietary probiotic supplementation on growth performance and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens
Background: Probiotics are increasingly used as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in poultry production.
Methods: A total of 480 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg of a Bacillus subtilis probiotic) with six replicate pens each for 42 days.
Results: Supplementation at 1.0 g/kg improved body weight gain by 6.8% and the feed conversion ratio by 5.1% compared with the control (P < 0.05). Villus height and villus-to-crypt ratio in the jejunum increased linearly with the dose.
Conclusions: Dietary B. subtilis at 1.0 g/kg is an effective strategy to support growth and intestinal integrity in broilers.