Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LX
Written by Mehmetcan CAKMAK, Nida OZCAN, Muzaffer DENLI
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of sumac powder (Rhus coriaria) on growth performance, serum biochemistry and intestinal microbiota in broilers reared at different stocking densities. A total of 378 one-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were subjected to a 2 stocking densities (10 and 20 chicks/m2 floor area; normal and high stocking density) x 3 sumac powder levels (0.0, 0.75 and 1.5 g/kg feed) factorial arrangement of treatments. Body weight and feed intake were significantly lower in chickens reared at high stocking density than normal stocking density groups (P0.05). Both stocking densities and the supplementation of sumac powder to the feeds had a reducing effect on intestinal weight (P0.05). In addition, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST) activities and high density lipoprotein (HDL), cholesterol and triglyceride concentration in the serum were not influenced by the any stocking density and sumac powder supplementation (P>0.05). In conclusion, our results showed that broilers exhibited low performance when reared at high stocking density and dietary supplementation of sumac powder has not prevented this decline.
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