Impact of Prebiotic Supplementation on Productive Performance, Carcass Traits, and Physiological Parameters of Broiler Chickens under High Stocking Density Condition

Abstract

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of increasing stocking density, prebiotic supplementation, and the interactions on broiler chicken performance and some physiological parameters. A total of 912 one-day-old chickens were used in this study, and they were randomly divided into six groups with 4 replicates each. The experiment included three levels of stocking densities (10, 13, and 15 broiler chicken/m2) in 6 groups. Groups 1, 3, and 5 were maintained without prebiotic supplementation, while groups 2, 4, and 6 received a diet supplemented with prebiotics in water (1cm/liter). Reducing stocking densities and adding prebiotics improved body weight, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, oxidative stress parameters (total antioxidant capacity), and European production efficiency factor, while decreasing malondialdehyde levels. On the other hand, stocking density and prebiotic supplementation did not affect dressing percentage, the relative weight of giblet parts, hind part, front part, and lymphoid organs (thymus and bursa of Fabricius). In conclusion, adding prebiotics at 1 cm/liter (Mannan-oligo saccharide and B-Glucan) can partially mitigate the negative effects of high stocking density on production performance, physiological and oxidative stress parameters, and European production efficiency factor. Keywords: Antioxidant biomarkers, Broiler chicken, β-glucan, Mannan oligosaccharide, Oxidant, Prebiotic, Stocking density