Study on the Comparative Efficacy of Natural Growth Promoter (AV/AGP/10) with Antibiotic Supplements on Overall Growth Performance and Intestinal Micrometry of Broiler Birds

Aims: The study was conducted to compare the efficacy of natural growth promoter AV/AGP/10 with antibiotic supplements on overall growth performance and intestinal micrometry of broiler birds.
Study Design: Total of 150 healthy day old Vencob broiler chicks of nearly similar live body weight were equally divided into 5 groups of 30 birds each with three replicates in each group. All the groups were fed with basal diet. Group-I was positive control without any supplement, Group- II was supplemented with AV/AGP/10 @ 250g/ton of feed, Group-III supplemented with AV/AGP/10@500g/ton of feed, Group-IV supplemented with Bacitracin Methylene Dicyticylate @100g/ton of feed and Group-V supplemented with Oregostim @ 250g/ton of feed.
Place and Duration of Study: the study was conducted in the department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary and Animal sciences, Udgir, Dist. Latur, Maharashtra, India during the month of April- June 2012 for 42 days. The mean maximum daily temperature recorded at the time of trial was 41±2ºC and relative humidity (RH) 80.57 ± 1.50 %.

Methodology: the efficacy of the products was assessed on the basis of feed consumption, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), metabolic trial / nutrient retention trial, intestinal micrometry and carcass yield / dressing percentage.
Results: at the end of sixth week, significantly higher live body weight (1874.19, 1921.51, 1720.39 and 1673.58) with more economical FCR (1.74, 1.71, 1.78 and 1.78) along with marked improvement in digestibility of nutrients from supplementation of herbal growth promoter with equal competence as that of synthetic antibiotic was observed. The intestinal micrometry at day 21 and 42 also revealed better results with natural growth promoter as compared to synthetic growth promoter and control group in terms of villous height, width and crypts depth.
Conclusion: Considering the overall trial results and harmful effects of antibiotic growth promoter such as bacterial resistance or undesired residues in animal products, the natural product AV/AGP/10 is better option as growth promoter and performance enhancers in broiler birds.