Potential Effects of Yoghurt Supplementation on Commercial Broiler Production

In Bangladesh and other developing nations, broiler farming is a significant factor in improving livelihood, food security, and poverty alleviation in rural and semi-urban populations. Approximately 0.6 million technical and nontechnical background workers are currently employed in the poultry industry, and this number is likely to rise in the coming years. Antibiotics have been used as growth promoters in the chicken business for a long time, but they have lately been banned due to their detrimental effects on human and animal health. One of the best sources of probiotics, a type of friendly bacteria that can strengthen the immune system of the host and promote bird health, is yoghurt. As a result, it can be employed as a probiotic in the diet of broiler chickens. Determining the impact of yoghurt—sweet, sour, and mixed—as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters on commercial broiler production was the goal of the current study.

In a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), a total of 128 mixed-sex day-old broiler chicks of the Lohman Meat strain were separated into 4 groups, each of which received 4 treatments, each with 4 duplicates. Yoghurt that is both sweet and sour was chosen as a growth enhancer for commercial broilers' antibacterial properties. Before the chicks arrived in the brooder house, the house was thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed. For the first seven days, all the DOCs were brooded collectively to help them get used to and adapt to the experimental setting. The collected data were put through a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Four treatments were used to measure the typical feed intake of experimental birds from 7-40 days of age (34 days). The findings showed that experimental birds under T₂ had the highest average body weight gain at 40 days of age (2322.70 g), followed by T3 (2201.00 g), and T₁ (2165.00 g). Supplementing with probiotics and enzymes was found to accelerate growth. On the last day of the trial, the treated groups' body weights were considerably higher than those of the control group (p 0.01) Probiotic yoghurt gradually improves the productive performances of broilers. The average dressing percentage did not differ significantly across the therapy groups. Throughout the trial, survivability was noted, and each groupwas given a percentage. Examining the economic viability of utilizing yoghurt in the production of broilers without antibiotics was one of the goals of the current study. Yoghurt bacterial isolates, particularly sour yoghurt, exhibited notable positive impacts on the production performance of broilers, showing promise for lucrative broiler production without the use of antibiotics. To improve body weight gain, FCR, and survivorship in a broiler production system without the use of antibiotics, isolated bacteria from sweet and sour yoghurt may be utilized in fresh drinking water.

Article Reference
A-Al Mamun, M.Z. Islam, J. Islam, M.N. Haque, J. Raihan, M.S. Ali, M.R. Hasan, S.S. Jahan and M.S. Islam, 2021. Effects of sweet and sour yogurt supplementation in drinking water on antibiotics free commercial broiler production. Int. J. Poult. Sci., 20: 215-223.