Supplementing the diet of young chicks with a probiotic over 21 days significantly enhanced the abundance of beneficial intestinal microorganisms, according to new research. With antimicrobial resistance and the use of antimicrobials in livestock feed a major concern over the spread of resistance to many other drugs, researchers at Penn State University in the US conducted a study of natural feed additives, seen as promising alternatives to substitute for antimicrobial growth promoters.
In findings to be published in the May edition of Poultry Science, the researchers characterised the effects of a probiotic and a blend of essential oils on broilers’ growth and gut health. Led by Erika Ganda, assistant professor of food animal microbiomes, the research team involved a total of 320 day-old chicks, which were raised for 21 days in 32 randomly allocated cages. Read more