Effect of Dietary Supplement of Fermented Clay Mineral on the Growth Performance andImmune Stimulation in Broiler Chickens

摘要

A feeding trial was conducted to study the effects of dietary supplement of fermented clay mineral (FCM) on the growth performance and immune stimulation in broiler chickens. A total of 36,800 broilers, (of) Ross strain-208, were randomly allotted into 2 experimental (diet) groups. Control group was fed the basal diet (corn-soybean meal based), and treatment group was fed the natural clay mineral that was fermented with aboriginal microorganisms at 37 deg C for 72 h. Feed and water were provided ad libitum throughout the experiment for 5 weeks of experimental feeding period. Daily weight gain of treatment group fed 0.3% fermented clay mineral was significantly increased in comparison with control group. Feed intake of treatment group was significantly increased 21.4% (p<0.05), and feed efficiency was also increased 2.7% compared to control group. Especially, growth rate and production index of treatment group were significantly higher as much as 4.4% and 4.8%, respectively, than those of control group (p<0.05). By the feeding of dietary 0.3 % FCM, the antibody productions against Newcastle Disease and Infectious Bursal Disease antigens were shown to increase 13.8 % and 15.7 %, respectively, more than control group chickens. From these results, itappears that the supply of fermented clay mineral at 0.3 % level in the broiler chicken diet could enhance the growth performance and immune stimulation of broiler chickens.