Table 2.
Effect of coccidia challenge and natural betaine supplementation on the weight gain (g/bird), feed intake (g/bird), feed conversion ratio (FCR, g/g) and mortality (%) in broilers fed a wheat-soy based diet (1 to 21d post- hatch)1.
| Coccidia challenge | Betaine supplementation | Weight gain | Feed intake | FCR | Mortality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | - | 933 | 1228 | 1.325 | 3.1 |
| No | + | 977 | 1252 | 1.287 | 1.6 |
| Yes | - | 789 | 1152 | 1.500 | 9.4 |
| Yes | + | 780 | 1119 | 1.440 | 1.6 |
| SEM2 | 6.8 | 10.1 | 0.006 | - | |
| Main Effect | |||||
| Coccidia | |||||
| No | 955a | 1240a | 1.306b | - | |
| Yes | 785b | 1135b | 1.470a | - | |
| Betaine | |||||
| − | 861 | 1190 | 1.412a | - | |
| + | 879 | 1185 | 1.363b | - | |
| P ≤ | |||||
| Coccidia challenge (CC) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | - | |
| Betaine supplementation (BS) | 0.20 | 0.83 | 0.0003 | - | |
| CC × BS | 0.06 | 0.17 | 0.38 | - | |
a–eMeans in a column not sharing a common superscript are different (P < 0.05).
1Each value represents the mean of 8 replicates (8 birds per replicate).
2Pooled standard error of the mean.