Diet with Soy Oil, Molasses, Methionine, Lysine and Vitamin C Improves the Growth Performance of Broilers Exposed to Extreme Heat Stress

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of feeding the broilers that were exposed to Extreme Heat Stress (EHS, 33 +/- 20 degrees C) with Extreme Heat Stress Diet (EHSD) containing an adequate amount of soy oil and other nutrients on their growth performance Five hundred broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomized into five dietary treatment groups according to a randomized block design on the day they were hatched Each group was further divided into four repeat pens with of 25 chickens Five dietary treatment groups were T1 (Normal ambient condition + Concentrated basal Diet (CD), T2 (Extreme Heat Stress (EHS) + CD), T3 (EHS + Extreme Heat Stress Diet (EHSD) prepared from CD with tallow replaced with soy oil 5% and containing molasses 2%), T4 (EHS + EHSD prepared from CD with tallow replaced with soy oil and containing molasses 2% and methionine and lysine of 1 5 times greater quantities than in CD) and T5 (EHS + EHSD prepared from CD with tallow replaced with soy oil and containing molasses 2%, methionine and lysine of 1 5 times greater quantities than in CD and vitamin C 200 ppm) The body weight gain of the broilers increased significantly in T4 and T5 compared with that in T1 and T2 Weights of the lymphoid organ, bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen were similar between all groups Serum concentrations of IgG, IgG and IgM were higher in T4 and T5 than mT1 and T2 but the corticosterone concentration decreased significantly in them In T4 and T5, Lactobacillus in the ceca increased but Escherichia coli form and total aerobic bacteria decreased significantly (p<005), compared with those in T1 and T2 Contents of acetic acid, propionic acid and total SCFA were significantly higher in T4 and T5 than in T1 and T2.