An experiment was conducted to determine the influence of organic acid salt supplementation on the performance and gut health of broiler chickens. One hundred and twenty day old commercial Vencobb-+** broiler chicks were randomly distributed into three groups having four replicates of +* birds in each group. Control (C) birds were o#ered standard basal diet and treatment + and , (T+ and T,) were having diets with ammonium formate or calcium propionate (-gm/kg diet). Organic acid salt supplementation increased (Pῐ *.*/) live weight, live weight gain at day ,+, whereas no significant di#erence was noted at day .,. Cumulative feed intake was higher (Pῐ*.*+) in treatments up to-rd week but afterwards in control. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) at day ., was better in treatment groups (Pῐ*.*/) compared with control. Organic acid salt reduced coliform count in feed compared to control (Pῐ*.*/), whereas clostridium count was una#ected (Pῑ*.*/). Ammonium formate supplementation lowered (Pῐ*.*/) Escherichia coli (E. coli) count in gut but clostridium count was una#ected (Pῑ*.*/). Histology of intestinal parts revealed that organic acid salt supplementation increased (Pῐ*.*/) villus height of di#erent segment of small intestine compared with control. pH of di#erent segments of gastrointestinal (GI) tract was una#ected by organic acid salt supplementation. Results of present experiment indicated that use of single organic acid salt i.e. ammonium formate or calcium propionate in the diet lowered feed intake but body weight gain was comparable as control birds, and thus improved feed conversion ratio. It also reduced bacterial and fungal count in feed and gut which improved villus height and helped in better nutrient utilization.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.