Poultry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
Poultry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
Poult Sci. 2024 Sep;103(9):103973. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103973. Epub 2024 Jun 13.
This study explored the ability of formic acid (FA) to replace antibiotics in broiler chicken diets. It examined how FA affected the chickens' growth, carcass characteristics, blood chemistry, and gut bacteria. The experiment randomly assigned 300 one-day-old (Ross 308) broiler chicks to 5 groups, each divided into 6 replicates with 10 unsexed chicks. The following were the treatments: 1st group, negative control (NC): only received a basal diet; 2nd group, positive control (PC): received a basal diet supplemented with 0.5 grams of Colistin antibiotic per kilogram of diet; 3rd, 4th, and 5th groups (FA2, FA4, and FA6) these groups received a basal diet along with formic acid added at increasing levels: 2, 4, and 6 Cm per kilogram of diet, respectively. Results found no significant differences in live body weight (LBW) or body weight gain (BWG) between treatment groups, except for LBW at one week and BWG at 0 to 1 and 4 to 5 wk of age. No significant variations were found in feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among the treatment groups, excluding FI and FCR at 1 to 2 wk of age. The treatments significantly impacted carcass traits, dressing percentage, breast meat, thigh meat, spleen, giblets, blood levels of urea, creatinine, total protein, globulin, and albumin, as well as the activity of enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in chicks fed different diets compared to control groups. The addition of FA to the diet significantly impacted antioxidant levels. Also, the FA2 group had the highest total bacterial count (TBC). However, the FA6 group was the opposite; it had the lowest levels of harmful bacteria, such as E. coli and Coliform. Supplementing broiler diets with formic acid improves blood parameters, antioxidant activity, and gut bacteria counts, with 4.0 cm³ formic acid/kg diet supplementation promoting optimal broiler health and product quality.
本研究探讨了甲酸（FA）替代肉鸡日粮中抗生素的能力。研究了 FA 对鸡的生长、屠体特征、血液化学和肠道细菌的影响。实验将 300 只 1 日龄（罗斯 308）肉鸡随机分成 5 组，每组 6 个重复，每个重复 10 只雌雄不分的鸡。以下是处理方法：第 1 组，阴性对照组（NC）：仅接受基础日粮；第 2 组，阳性对照组（PC）：接受基础日粮，每千克日粮添加 0.5 克粘菌素抗生素；第 3、4、5 组（FA2、FA4 和 FA6）：这些组分别在基础日粮中添加 2、4 和 6 cm³/kg 甲酸。结果发现，除了第 1 周的活体重（LBW）和第 0 至 1 周和 4 至 5 周龄的体重增重（BWG）外，各处理组之间的活体重（LBW）或体重增重（BWG）没有显著差异。各处理组之间的采食量（FI）和饲料转化率（FCR）没有显著差异，除了第 1 至 2 周龄的 FI 和 FCR。与对照组相比，不同处理组的屠体性状、屠宰率、胸肉、大腿肉、脾脏、杂碎、血液中尿素、肌酐、总蛋白、球蛋白和白蛋白水平以及丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）和天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）的活性均有显著差异。与对照组相比，日粮中添加 FA 对鸡的抗氧化水平有显著影响。此外，FA2 组的总细菌计数（TBC）最高。然而，FA6 组则相反，其有害细菌（如大肠杆菌和大肠菌群）水平最低。在肉鸡日粮中添加甲酸可改善血液参数、抗氧化活性和肠道细菌计数，4.0 cm³/kg 甲酸的添加量可促进肉鸡的最佳健康和产品质量。
