Growth performance, feed and production efficiency of broiler chickens fed diet supplemented with malic acid

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to assess growth performance, feed and production efficiency of broiler chickens fed diet supplemented with malic acid. A total of 192 day-old broiler chicks were randomly grouped into four treatments with 48 birds per treatment for a period of 42 days. The treatments were as-CON: control diet, MA0.2: control diet + 0.2% malic acid, MA0.4: control diet + 0.4% malic acid and MA0.6: control diet + 0.6% malic acid supplementation. The parameters studied were proximate composition of feeds, body weights, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, protein intake, protein and production efficiency and return over feed cost. Results revealed that the mean body weight and body weight gain in broiler chickens were significantly (p