Table 3.
The effect of butyric acid and α-monolaurin, with and without the inclusion of an antibiotic growth promoter (AGP), on weekly and overall feed conversion ratio of broilers (± standard error of the mean).
| Period | Treatment | Without AGP α | With AGP α | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0–7 | No additives | 1.06 (±0.01) | 1.04 (±0.01) | 1.05 (±0.01) |
| Butyric acid # | 1.04 (±0.01) | 1.05 (±0.01) | 1.04 (±0.01) | |
| Monolaurin * | 1.07 (±0.01) | 1.05 (±0.01) | 1.06 (±0.01) | |
| Butyric acid # + Monolaurin * | 1.06 (±0.01) | 1.04 (±0.01) | 1.05 (±0.01) | |
| Mean | 1.06 (±0.01) | 1.04 (±0.01) | ||
| Day 8–14 | No additives | 1.29 (±0.01) | 1.26 ab (±0.01) | 1.28 (±0.01) |
| Butyric acid # | 1.29 (±0.01) | 1.27 ab (±0.01) | 1.28 (±0.01) | |
| Monolaurin * | 1.28 (±0.01) | 1.25 a (±0.01) | 1.27 (±0.01) | |
| Butyric acid # + Monolaurin * | 1.26 (±0.01) | 1.29 b (±0.01) | 1.28 (±0.01) | |
| Mean | 1.28 (±0.01) | 1.27 (±0.01) | ||
| Day 15–21 | No additives | 1.31 (±0.03) | 1.36 (±0.03) | 1.34 (±0.02) |
| Butyric acid # | 1.33 (±0.03) | 1.30 (±0.03) | 1.31 (±0.02) | |
| Monolaurin * | 1.32 (±0.03) | 1.32 (±0.03) | 1.32 (±0.02) | |
| Butyric acid # + Monolaurin * | 1.30 (±0.03) | 1.32 (±0.03) | 1.31 (±0.02) | |
| Mean | 1.31 (±0.02) | 1.32 (±0.03) | ||
| Day 22–28 | No additives | 1.49 (±0.03) | 1.46 (±0.03) | 1.48 ab (±0.02) |
| Butyric acid # | 1.48 (±0.03) | 1.45 (±0.03) | 1.47 ab (±0.02) | |
| Monolaurin * | 1.44 (±0.03) | 1.42 (±0.03) | 1.43 a (±0.02) | |
| Butyric acid # + Monolaurin * | 1.51 (±0.03) | 1.47 (±0.03) | 1.49 b (±0.02) | |
| Mean | 1.48 (±0.02) | 1.45 (±0.02) | ||
| Day 29–35 | No additives | 1.80 (±0.04) | 1.84 ab (±0.04) | 1.82 (±0.03) |
| Butyric acid # | 1.87 (±0.04) | 1.86 ab (±0.04) | 1.87 (±0.03) | |
| Monolaurin * | 1.88 (±0.04) | 1.79 a (±0.04) | 1.83 (±0.03) | |
| Butyric acid # + Monolaurin * | 1.82 1 (±0.04) | 1.93 b2 (±0.04) | 1.88 (±0.03) | |
| Mean | 1.84 (±0.02) | 1.85 (±0.02) | ||
| Day 0–35 | No additives | 1.48 (±0.01) | 1.47 ab (±0.01) | 1.48 ab (±0.01) |
| Butyric acid # | 1.51 (±0.01) | 1.47 a (±0.01) | 1.49 b (±0.01) | |
| Monolaurin * | 1.47 (±0.01) | 1.44 a (±0.01) | 1.46 a (±0.01) | |
| Butyric acid # + Monolaurin * | 1.47 1 (±0.01) | 1.51 b2 (±0.01) | 1.49 b (±0.01) | |
| Mean | 1.48 (±0.01) | 1.48 (±0.01) |
α Antibiotic growth promoter: zinc bacitracin 15% (0.5 g/kg); # Novyrate®C (starter 1 g/kg, grower 0.75 g/kg, finisher 0.25 g/kg); * FRA® C12 Dry (1 g/kg); a,b column means per period with a distinctive superscript differ significantly (p < 0.05); 1,2 row means with a distinctive superscript differ significantly (p < 0.05).