By Diri, M; Woke, JA; Leton De-Great, KC; Johnson, NC (2023). Greener Journal of Biological Sciences, 13(1): 12-15.

Growth Performance of Broiler Chickens Fed Graded Levels of Vitamin C

^1*Diri, M.; ¹Woke, J.A.; ²Leton De-Great, K.C.; and ¹Johnson, N.C.

¹Department of Animal Science, Rivers State University

²Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Rivers State University

INTRODUCTION

Broiler chickens are very fast growing species and as such can reach market weight in most cases in eight (8) weeks. The fast growing process of the animals therefore necessitates that the dietary nutrients of broilers should match their nutrient requirements of their fast growing physiological patterns. Also, their natural fast growing nature makes them highly susceptible to many environmental stressors, including nutrition. This is an indication that their micro-nutrients should match their needs, especially the anti-oxidants, such as vitamin C; otherwise the animal growth can be reduced or stunted leading to stunted growth and sometimes even result in death of the animals, often referred to as “sudden death syndrome” (Hoerr, 1998; NRC, 2012). The attendant effect of the fore-stated challenge no doubt leads to the reduction of the poultry farmer profit margin and in the extreme case results in huge financial losses.

In the past, supplementing poultry diets with antibiotics at sub-therapeutic levels had traditionally been employed to improve animal growth rates (Cromwell, 2002). However, at present due to global growing concerns over the resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal diets, including poultry, is limited as a result of public and regulatory pressures. Therefore, nutrition becomes the major key in the prevention-modulation reflecting a specific accent in diet as an essential strategy in the preservation of the animal’s wholeness. Hence, nutritional science has to move towards the development of recommendations for optimal dietary ingredients, especially as it relates to micro-nutrients such as the antioxidant vitamins for the maintenance of good health of the fast growing bird for eventual optimal productivity (NRC, 2012).

Currently, it is understood that antioxidant nutrient requirements for the protection of the bird need to be properly established and documented in respect to animal needs in terms of growth and the health of the animal (NRC, 2012). Here, one of the major micro-nutrients dietary factor with special emphasis on the health of the animal and consequently better support the growth of the animal is antioxidant vitamin C because of its involvement in the regulation of the glutathione system of the animal (Harrison and May, 2010). However, to date there is paucity of information on vitamin C requirement for optimal growth in broiler chickens. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to measure growth parameters characteristics of broiler chickens fed graded levels of vitamin C mainly on: average daily feed intake, average daily gain and feed efficiency, respectively.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Experimental site

This study was carried out at the poultry unit of the Teaching and Research Farm, Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt. The farm is situated at latitude 4⁰ 48’N and longitude 6⁰ 48’E at the Rivers State University campus.

Experimental Animals

One hundred and twenty (120) Agrited day-old chicks were acquired from a reputable commercial poultry dealer in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. The animals on arrival at the Rivers State University Teaching and Research Farm were brooded to proper pre-condition them to their new environment. The animals by the fourth week were observed to have properly adapted to their environment and thus were randomly assigned to four treatment groups of 30 birds/treatment group with 3 replications of 10 birds/replicate. The pens were properly cleaned and disinfected before the birds’ arrival. Feeders and drinkers were also properly cleaned to also ensure that the animals’ environment were “pathogen-free”. During the brooding period all protocols, including the necessary medications were provided. Animals were fed similar diets from day one through the end of the 4^th week. Water was provided ad libitum. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks and thus animals received their respective experimental diets for 4 weeks after the brooding period.

Experimental Diets

Hybrid feed ^TM grower mash feeds were used in the study. In other words, the diets fed to the animals during the last four weeks of the experimental period were similar in all nutrients except their dietary vitamin C levels as: control or treatment 1 (T₁, contained only basal level (30mg) of vitamin C/kg of diet), treatment 2 (T_2, contained 200mg of vitamin C), treatment 3 (T_3, contained 300mg of vitamin C) and treatment 4 (T₄, contained 400mg of vitamin C)/kg of diet, respectively. The animals were fed these graded levels of vitamin C-based diets for 4 weeks.

Experimental Procedure and Data Collection

Feed intake was strictly monitored as to be able to compute the amount of feed ingested by each treatment group. Therefore, at the beginning of each day of the 4 weeks of the experimental period, orts from the previous day was usually collected, air-dried, weighed and recorded. The difference between dry feed delivered and the next day’s orts represents the actual feed consumed by the animal for the day. As the animals were weighed at the end of the first 4 weeks of adaptation to obtain their initial body weights (BW) for the study, they were also re-weighed on the last day of trial to obtain their final body weights. The difference between the final and initial BW represents the weight gained during the last 4 weeks of the study period. Average daily feed intake (ADFI) was determined as the difference between the total amount of feed consumed and orts, divided by the number of birds in the pen, divided by the number of days of the study period. Average daily gain (ADG) was computed by dividing the weight gain during the study period by the number of days of the study period. Feed efficiency (FE) which is gain/feed was obtained by dividing the ADG by the ADFI.

Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis

The study was carried out as a completely randomized design (CRD). Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using general linear model (GLM) procedure of SAS. Treatment means were compared using Tukey’s test. Because CRD was used, the model was: Y_ij= µ + X_i + E_ij, where Y_ij= individual observation of the treatment, µ = population mean, X_i= effect of the i^th treatment and E_ij= the error term. An α-level of 0.05 was used for all statistical comparisons to represent significance.

RESULTS

The results of the performances of the animals in the T₁, T₂, T₃ and T₄ diet groups are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Mean Growth Responses of Broiler Chickens Fed Graded Levels of Vitamin C-Based Diets

^a,b,c,dMeans within each row with different superscript significantly differ (P < 0.05)

As shown in Table 1, the ADFI of the animals from all dietary treatment groups were similar as there were no significant (P > 0.05) differences between them. However, despite the non-existence of significant differences in the average daily feed intake, there were significant (P < 0.05) differences in the rates of weight gain during the study period by the animals on the four dietary treatment groups. Animals in the T₁ dietary group demonstrated ADG of 47.62g which was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than the rates animals in the T₂ dietary treatment group gained weight, that is, 66.68g whereas, animals in the T₃ dietary treatment group had (76.1g) ADG with the animals on diet T₄ had the best ADG of 95.24g.

The FE mirrored the ADG pattern. There were significant (P < 0.05) differences in the FE of the four dietary treatment groups. Just as it was with the ADG, the FE of the T₁ group was the lowest (0.34) while that of T₂ (0.44) and T₃ (0.51) whereas T₄ animals demonstrated the best FE of 0.63.

DISCUSSION

Antibiotics had been used in the diets of non-ruminant animals, including poultry at sub-therapeutic levels for years to improve growth and reproductive performance (NRC, 2012). At present there are bans of the use of certain antibiotics in non-ruminants’ diets, principally due to development of certain strains of pathogenic organisms that are resistant to antibiotics. From nutrition standpoint, growth physiologically can be used to assess the health status of an animal. Economically, normal growth rates of the animal are a characteristic all animal farmers cherish as it positively affects profit margins in any commercial setting of animal production, including poultry.

Again, with the bans of the use of antibiotics in the diets of animals the animal producers are strategizing for alternatives to antibiotics as to be able to sustain and keep the levels of their animal performance at optimum levels. Nutall et al. (1999) demonstrated that antioxidant vitamins, particularly vitamin C in addition with vitamin E could be used as replacements for antibiotics as to boost the health of the animal and thus better support improved animal performance. In this current study, the effects of graded levels of vitamin C on growth parameters of broiler chickens were investigated. As shown in Table 1, the results showed that despite the similarity in the ADFI, there were significant differences in the ADG. For instances, while the T₁ group of animals had an ADG value of 47.62g, the diets with the added vitamin C, that is, the T₂, T₃ and T₄ groups had superior gains compared to the value of the T₁ group. These were 66.68g, 76.2g and 95.24g, respectively. In true economic terms, these translated into 40%, 60% and 100% improvements respectively, for the T_2, T₃ and T₄ groups over that of T₁ group. Furthermore, the FE of T_2, T₃ and T₄ dietary groups were 29%, 50% and 85% superior, respectively over that of T₁ group. From the findings of this study, it is clear that fortifying broiler diets with antioxidant vitamin C exerted their antioxidant potentials that aided the animals to perform better than the T₁ animals whose diet contained only basal level of the vitamin C (Gupta and Viswanathan, 2000). This might also be related to the fact that vitamin C always regenerate vitamin E leading to sustained activities of these vitamins in regulating the animal defense systems, such as the immune and glutathione defense systems of the animal (Johnson et al. 2019). The overall effect of this therefore, would result in better growth performance as observed in this current study. These findings are therefore in agreement with the data of Nutall et al. (1999) and Johnson et al. (2019).

CONCLUSION

Vitamin C supported broiler chicken growth, especially at the 400mg of vitamin C/kg of diet. Furthermore, at this same level of 400mg of vitamin C/kg of diet feed, efficiency was most significantly improved.

REFERENCES

Cromwell, G. L. 2002. Why and how antibiotics are used in swine production. Anim. Biotechnol. 13:7-27.

Gupta, K. C. & Viswanathan, R. 2000. Combined action of streptomycin and chloramphenicol with plant antibiotics against tubercle bacilli.1. Streptomycin and chloramphenicol with cepharanthine. 11. Streptomycin and allicin. Antibiot. Chemother. Wash. DC, 85-90.

Harrison, F. E. and May, J. M. 2010. Vitamin C function in the brain; vital role of the ascorbate transporter SVCT2. Free Rad. Biol. Med. 46:719-730.

Hoerr, F. J. 1998. Pathogenesis of enteric diseases. Poult. Sci. 77:1150-1155.

Johnson, N. C. Popoola, S. O. and Owen, O. J. 2019. Effects of single and combined antioxidant vitamins on growing pig performance and pork quality. Inter. J. Advance Res. Public. 3(8):86-89.

NRC, 2012. Nutrient Requirements of Swine. 11^th Ed. Natl. Acad. Press, Washington, D. C.

Nutall, S. L., Kendell, M. J. and Martin, U. 1999. Antioxidant therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. QSM. 92:239-244.

PDF VIEWER

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

Download [301.90 KB]