Table 4.
Effects of a precision biotic (Glycan PB) ingredient 1 supplemented at different doses in feed without or with the inclusion of a xylanase enzyme on the litter characteristics, foot pad lesions, and gait scores of broiler chickens raised in floor pens, evaluated at 35 d of age (Trial 1).
| Xylanase | Glycan PB Dose | Litter Characteristics | Welfare Assessment | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litter pH | Total N (mg/g) |
Inorganic N (mg/g) |
Ammonia (mg/g) |
Ammonia/Inorg. N (mg/mg) | Ammonia/Tot. N (mg/mg) | Litter Score (1–5) | Foot Pad Score 0 (%) | Foot Pad Score 1–4 (%) | Gait Score 0 (%) | Gait Score 1–5 (%) | ||
| No | 9.12 | 60.48 | 19.71 | 18.00 | 0.91 | 0.31 | 3.18 | 77.3 | 22.7 | 97.8 | 2.20 | |
| Yes | 9.31 | 55.73 | 20.55 | 18.70 | 0.89 | 0.37 | 3.13 | 76.3 | 23.7 | 97.5 | 2.47 | |
| SEM | 0.10 | 2.72 | 1.74 | 1.63 | 0.008 | 0.037 | 0.08 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.55 | |
| 0 | 9.52 | 53.80 | 25.50 | 23.64 | 0.92 | 0.47 | 3.33 a | 72.2 | 27.8 | 96.1 b | 3.85 a | |
| 250 | 9.37 | 62.41 | 13.33 | 11.68 | 0.87 | 0.19 | 3.17 ab | 75.5 | 24.5 | 98.4 a | 1.60 b | |
| 500 | 8.74 | 58.09 | 21.56 | 19.74 | 0.90 | 0.35 | 2.96 b | 82.7 | 17.3 | 98.4 a | 1.56 b | |
| SEM | 0.11 | 3.33 | 2.13 | 1.99 | 0.010 | 0.045 | 0.09 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.62 | |
| No | 0 | 9.25 bc | 58.70 | 17.43 bc | 15.83 cb | 0.95 ab | 0.28 b | 3.33 | 70.2 c | 29.8 c | 96.3 | 3.71 |
| No | 250 | 9.27 abc | 62.20 | 14.35 bc | 12.85 cb | 0.93 ab | 0.21 b | 3.26 | 77.8 abc | 22.2 abc | 98.7 | 1.34 |
| No | 500 | 8.85 dc | 60.53 | 27.35 ab | 25.33 ab | 0.97 a | 0.43 ab | 2.95 | 83.9 a | 16.1 a | 98.4 | 1.56 |
| Yes | 0 | 9.80 a | 48.90 | 33.58 a | 31.45 a | 0.98 a | 0.67 a | 3.33 | 74.2 bc | 25.8 bc | 96.0 | 4.00 |
| Yes | 250 | 9.48 ab | 62.63 | 12.30 c | 10.50 c | 0.89 b | 0.17 b | 3.08 | 73.2 c | 26.8 c | 98.1 | 1.86 |
| Yes | 500 | 8.64 d | 55.65 | 15.78 bc | 14.15 bc | 0.92 ab | 0.26 b | 2.97 | 81.5 ab | 18.5 ab | 98.4 | 1.56 |
| SEM | 0.15 | 4.71 | 3.01 | 2.82 | 0.014 | 0.063 | 0.13 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.79 | |
| Source of variation | ----------------------------- Probability --------------------- | |||||||||||
| Xylanase | 0.08 | 0.23 | 0.74 | 0.76 | 0.08 | 0.16 | 0.62 | 0.78 | 0.78 | 0.69 | 0.69 | |
| Glycan PB | <0.001 | 0.22 | 0.002 | 0.002 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.05 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.03 | 0.03 | |
| Xylanase*Glycan PB | 0.04 | 0.57 | 0.001 | 0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.67 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.92 | 0.92 | |
a–d Means with different superscripts differed at p < 0.05. Superscripts are only shown when main effect of treatment had a p < 0.05. 1 Produced by the catalytic oligomerization of food sugars into tailored glycans [3,4] (Midori USA, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA, DSM Nutritional Products, Kaiseraugst, Switzerland).