Advances in Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Research Article
Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci. 8(12): 1301-1309
Http://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.aavs/2020/8.12.1301.1309
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Asmaa Metwally Ali1, Hassan Mostafa El Agrab1, Mohamed Mamdouh Hamoud2, Abdelrhman Mohamed Gamal1, Mohamed Refat Mousa3, Shimaa Abo Elsoud Nasr1, Mohamed Ahmed Hassan El Shater4, Samah Elsaeed Laban1, Osama Kamel Zahran1, Mohamed Mohamed Ali1*

1Department of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt; 2Departement of Poultry and Rabbit Disease Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Cairo University, Giza 12211, Egypt; 3Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza,12211, Egypt; 4Food Hygiene Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract | The usage of organic acids (OAs) in poultry industry as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters has been functioning since 2006 The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of prolonged usage of single or mixture of different OAs to acidify the drinking water and monitor their effect on the broiler growth performance, water consumption, feed conversion and intestinal histomorphology. A total of 450 commercial broiler chicks (Arbor acres breed) were randomly divided into nine main groups (50 birds/each). Our results revealed that during the entire growth period, the water was supplemented with acidified water with a pH range between 2.7- 3.7 that showed best performance results. All broilers which given acidified water showed significant improvement in final body weight (P ≤ 0.05), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and villus high: crypt depth ratio (V:C ratio) for the intestinal mucosa compared to non-treated control group (negative control). On the other hand, broiler chicks that supplied with acidified water including formic acid (pH 2.5) revealed significant reduction in all tested parameters (P≤ 0.05) however, water consumption was not affected by lowering the pH in all groups. In conclusions, our findings showed that continuous supplementation of both single and mixture of organic acids can improve the broiler growth performance.

Keywords | Organic acids, Acidified water, Single and mixture organic acid, Broiler performance, Intestinal mucosa