Effect of supplementing humic substance on growth performance in broilers

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of supplementing broiler diets with humic substances on growth parameters. A total of 120 day-old broiler chicks were divided into four groups: a control group (T1) fed a standard diet based on Bureau of Indian Standards (2007), and three experimental groups receiving diets with 0.02% humic substance (T2), 0.04% humic substance (T3), and 0.02% bacitracin methylene disalicylate (T4). The results revealed significant improvements in body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio with 0.04% humic substance and 0.02% bacitracin methylene disalicylate compared to the control group, with no notable impact on survivability. Interestingly, the effects of 0.04% humic substance were similar to those of 0.02% bacitracin methylene disalicylate. Therefore, 0.04% humic substance emerges as a promising alternative to antibiotic growth promoters for enhancing broiler growth performance.