Table 3. Effects of dietary treatments on body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and FCR of broiler chickens.
| Parameter | Dietary treatment* | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | 0.5 g kg-1 LC | 1 g kg-1 LC | |
| Body weight (g) | |||
| D 1 | 47.5 ± 1.0 | 47.2 ± 1.2 | 48.0 ± 1.4 |
| D 21 | 644.7 ± 8.6 | 646.2 ± 18.7 | 653.8 ± 10.7 |
| D 42 | 2017.3 ± 128.1 b | 2164.3 ± 172.3 a | 2274.5 ± 33.3 a |
| Weight gain (g) | |||
| 1 to 21 d | 597.2 ± 8.8 | 599.0 ± 18.1 | 605.8 ± 11.6 |
| 22 to 42 d | 1348.3 ± 119.6 b | 1522.4 ± 192.0 a | 1615.8 ± 31.6 a |
| 1 to 42 d | 1945.5 ± 119.1 b | 2121.4 ± 183.9 a | 2221.6 ± 26.3 a |
| Feed intake (g) | |||
| 1 to 21 d | 1020.2 ± 34.7 | 992.9 ± 36.9 | 992.1 ± 31.5 |
| 22 to 42 d | 2798.7 ± 149.2 | 2661.2 ± 148.9 | 2713.5 ± 111.3 |
| 1 to 42 d | 3818.9 ± 174.8 | 3654.1 ± 160.1 | 3705.6 ± 138.5 |
| FCR (g g-1) | |||
| 1 to 21 d | 1.71 ± 0.06 | 1.66 ± 0.04 | 1.64 ± 0.07 |
| 22 to 42 d | 2.08 ± 0.15 a | 1.75 ± 0.17 b | 1.68 ± 0.05 b |
| 1 to 42 d | 1.96 ± 0.10 a | 1.72 ± 0.11 b | 1.67 ± 0.05 b |
* Values are mean ± SD of 6 replicate cages, each with 15 chickens
a-b Means within a row with no common superscript are significantly different (P < 0.01)
LC, mixture of L. salivarius CI1, CI2 and CI3 in the ratio of 1:1:1 (w:w:w); FCR, feed conversion ratio; control, basal diet; 0.5 g kg-1 LC, basal diet + 0.5 g kg-1 LC; 1 g kg-1 LC, basal diet + 1 g kg-1 LC