Impact of amoxicillin, synbiotic and thyme essential oil on nutrient utilization in commercial broilers

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of amoxicillin, synbiotic and thyme essential oil as feed additives on nutrient utilization in commercial broiler chickens. A total of 200 Cobb broiler chicks of one week of age were randomly distributed into 5 dietary treatment groups: T0 (Basal diet only); T1 (Basal diet + amoxicillin @ 200 mg/kg); T2 (Basal diet + synbiotic @ 100 mg/kg), T3 (Basal diet + thyme essential oil @ 2ml/kg) and T4 (Basal diet + synbiotic @ 50 mg/kg + thyme essential oil @ 1ml/kg). Each group contained 4 replicates with 10 birds each for 35 days period. The results revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the utilization of ether extract (EE) and crude fibre (CF) in T4 treatment group than control group (T0). In antibiotic (amoxicillin) supplemented group (T1) there was significant (p<0.05) increase in dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) utilization compared to control group (T0). In conclusion, supplementation of synbiotic and thyme essential oil combination can be beneficial for nutrient utilization in broiler chickens.