Potential of Enhanced Probotic (PROVET) as Substitute to Antibiotic Growth Promoters (AGP) on the Growth, Hematological Analysis and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chicken

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of enhanced Probiotic (Provet) as substitute to antibiotic growth promoters in broiler chicken production. Antibiotics have been widely used to promote growth and prevent disease both to backyard and commercial production. Though effective, their prolonged and excessive use has been linked to serious concerns such as antibiotic resistance, drug residues in the poultry meat and harmful impacts on consumer health. The use of probiotic technology in broiler production is gaining admiration as a sustainable and health-conscious alternative to synthetic antibiotic. To verify its efficacy to broiler chicken, this study was conducted. Methods: The study was laid out using the completely randomized designed (CRD). The least significance difference (LSD) was used for the comparison of means, if the result is significant. The treatments were Treatment 1- Control (No Probiotic), Treatment 2-Commercial, Treatment 3-10 ml of enhanced probiotic (Provet) per liter water, Treatment 4-20 ml of enhanced probiotic (Provet) per liter. Result: Significant (P less than 0.05) result was observed at final body weight, gain in weight, percentage rate of growth, the feed conversion ratio and efficiency in broiler chicken treated with 20 ml enhanced probiotic (Provet) was significantly higher compared with those broiler chickens in control and commercial antibiotics treatments. While hematological parameters revealed no significant differences across all treatments and still within the normal ranges proving that probiotic treatments had no adverse effects on blood health. Only the drumstick weight of broiler chickens treated with 20 ml enhanced probiotic (Provet) showed significant differences in terms of carcass. These findings found that 20 ml enhanced probiotics (Provet) can be an effective, safe and economically viable substitute to antibiotics use in broiler production.