Effects of early feeding with probiotics and honey on broiler performance

The aim of this experiment was to examine the effect of early feeding with probiotics (Protexin) and honey on the performance of broiler chickens. The effects of honey and probiotics were tested in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement (2 × 2) with two levels of probiotics and two levels ofhoney in 3 replicates of 12 chicks each. One hundred and forty four mixed sex Ross 308 broiler chicks were fed the experimental diets for 7 weeks.Experimental diets were: 1) control with no early feeding 2) one gram probiotics per liter of drinking water, 3) five percent of honey dissolved in 1 liter of water,and 4)- 1 g per liter of probiotics and 5% honey in 1 liter water. Early feeding was applied in 48 hours after hatching. Performance traits were weight gain, dailyfeed intake and feed conversion ratio. The results showed that the probiotic had no significant effect on feed intake and FCR. Different levels of probiotics showed a significant effect (P> 0.05) on weight gain during 1 to 42 days. Honey levels also had significant effect (P< 0.05) on weight gain and FCR during 7 to 49 days and 1 to 21 days, respectively. It could be concluded that, early feeding with honey, probiotics, and the combination of both may improve weight gain and FCR at different ages.

کلیدواژه ها:

Early feeding ، Probiotics ، Honey ، Performance ، Broilers