Effect of nanoclay minerals on growth performance, internal organs and blood biochemistry of broiler chickens compared to vaccines and antibiotics

Figures & data

Table 1. Scheme of treatments.

Groups	Receive diets
	Basal diet	Antibiotics	Vaccines	1% Nanoclay	1.5% Nanoclay	2% Nanoclay
1-Control	+	+	+
2-Control	+		+
3-Control	+
4 (T1)	+			+
5 (T2)	+			+
6 (T3)	+				+
7 (T4)	+				+
8 (T5)	+					+
9 (T6)	+					+

T1 – offered once a week, T2 – offered once in 2 weeks, T3– offered once a week, T4 – offered once in 2 weeks, T5 – offered once a week, T6 – offered once in 2 weeks.

Table 2. Composition of experimental rations.

Ingredient (g/k)	Starter	Finisher
Corn	615	695
Soybean meal	340	237
Broiler concentrate	20	40
CaCO3	12.5	12.3
Dicalcium phosphate	7.2	10
NaCl	2.5	2.5
Lysine	0.3	–
Methionine	–	0.7
Vitamin-Mineral premix^a	2.5	2.5
Total	1000 g	1000 g
Calculated feeding value
Crude protein (%)	22.30	18.73
Metabolizable energy (MJ)	12.30	12.65
Lysine (%)	1.26	1.05
Methionine + Cystine (%)	0.97	0.65
Analysed feeding value
DM (%)	91.50	91.20
Crude protein (%)	22.20	18.80

^aVitamin: Mineral Premix: Provided the following: 2,000,000 IU vitamin A; 400,000 IU Vitamin D3; 400 mg Vitamin E; 200 mg Vitamin B1; 800 mg Vitamin B2; 4000 mg Nicotinc acid; 2000 mg Pantothenic acid; 300 mg Vitamin K; 200 mg Folic acid; 300 mg Vitamin B6; 50 mg |Co; 1,600 Cu; 6,421 mg Fe; 156 mg I; 12,800 mg Mn; 32 mg Se; 9000 mg Zn; 100 mg Choline Chloride.

Figure 1. The image reveals the ‘united structure’ of the clay minerals (nano-flake’).

Table 3. Chemical composition of clay minerals’ sample.

Element	(%)
Na2O	0.13
MgO	3.47
Al2O3	20.08
SiO2	55.67
K2O	2.45
CaO	2.15
TiO2	2.54
Fe2O3	13.47

Table 4. Growth performance at day 28 of age of broiler chickens fed nanoclay minerals (Means ± SE).

	C1 Vaccine+ antibiotic	C2 Vaccine	C3 No vaccine No antib	T1 1%/1 wk	T2 1%/2 wk	T3 1.5%/1wk	T4 1.5%/2 wk	T5 2%/1 wk	T6 2%/2 wk
BW (g)	873.33^cd  ± 49.95	864.33^d  ± 49.21	836.33^d  ± 28.5	942.00^bc  ± 35.0	887.00^bcd  ± 52.9	969.00^bc  ± 34.9	907.67^bcd  ± 27.72	1064.00^a  ± 31.47	870.17^d  ± 24.17
BWG (g)	838.33^cd  ± 45.95	829.33^d  ± 49.21	801.33^d  ± 25.8	907.00^bc  ± 35.0	852.00^bcd  ± 52.9	934.00^bc  ± 34.9	872.67^bcd  ± 27.72	1029.67^a  ± 31.47	835.00^d  ± 24.17
CFI (g)	1504.33^c  ± 34.23	1538.00^c  ± 42.44	1507.00^c  ± 13.53	1646.67^b  ± 20.99	1592.67^b  ± 31.75	1691.00^b  ± 51.10	1606.00^b  ± 29.91	1758^a  ± 56.90	1542.00^c  ± 60.88
FCR	1.72^b  ± 0.03	1.78^ab  ± 0.03	1.80^a  ± 0.02	1.75^b  ± 0.02	1.80^a  ± 0.02	1.75^b  ± 0.02	1.77^ab  ± 0.03	1.65^c  ± 0.02	1.77^ab  ± 0.02

Note: ^a–cMeans with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different at P < .05

Table 5. Growth performance at day 36 of age of broiler chickens fed nanoclay minerals (Means ± SE).

	C1 Vaccine+ antibiotic	C2 Vaccine	C3 No vacc No antib	T1 1%/1 wk	T2 1%/2 wk	T3 1.5%/1 wk	T4 1.5%/2 wk	T5 2%/1 wk	T6 2%/2 wk
BW (g)	1421.00^d  ± 18.72	1321.00^e  ± 42.36	1332.33^e  ± 22.85	1544.67^b  ± 43.61	1489.33^c  ± 41.90	1586.00^b  ± 22.48	1458.00^c  ± 19.47	1712.00^a  ± 56.55	1458.33^c  ± 25.34
BWG (g)	1386.00  ± 18.72^e	1286.00^f  ± 49.36	1297.33^f  ± 22.85	1509.67^cd  ± 43.61	1454.33^cd  ± 41.90	1551.00^b  ± 22.48	1423.00^de  ± 19.47	1677.00^a  ± 56.32	1423.33^d  ± 25.43
CFI (g)	255.33^c  ± 21.62	2545.67^cd  ± 43.61	2489.67^cd  ± 37.61	2747.00^b  ± 65.61	2712.33^b  ± 82.08	2836.33^ab  ± 64.91	2702.33^b  ± 101.12	2943.67^a  ± 125.04	2694.33^bc  ± 117.23
FCR	1.80^bcd  ± 0.04	1.93^a  ± 0.03	1.87^ab  ± 0.05	1.78^cd  ± 0.02	1.82^bc  ± 0.05	1.79^cd  ± 0.02	1.86^abc  ± 0.02	1.72^d  ± 0.04	1.85^ab  ± 0.05

Note: ^a–fMeans with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different at P < .05.

Table 6. Percentage of internal organs to LBW of broiler chickens at day 28 of age (Means ± SE).

Treatments Parameters	C1 vaccines+ antibiotics	C2 vaccines	C3 No vaccines No. antibiotics	T1 1%/1 wk	T2 1%/2 wk	T3 1.5%/1 wk	T4 1.5%/2 wk	T5 2%/1 wk	T6 2%/2 wk
Liver (%)	3.800^b	3.270	2.588^f	2.300^g	3.018^e	4.070^a	3.020^e	3.560^c	2.578f
	± 0.008	± 0.015^d	± 0.009	± 0.007	± 0.023	± 0.008	± 0.007	± 0.004	± 0.006
Gizzard (%)	3.370^ab	3.293^ab	2.860^c	2.600^d	2.895^c	3.385^a	2.790^c	3.190^b	2.773^cd
	± 0.004	± 0.027	± 0.004	± 0.008	± 0.013	± 0.013	± 0.004	± 0.018	± 0.191
Proventriculus (%)	0.700^b	2.160^a	0.510^b	1.030^b	0.503^b	0.670^b	0.550^b	0.640^b	0.460^b
	± 0.008	± 0.500	0.004	± 0.500	± 0.013	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.007	± 0.004
Heart (%)	0.560^c	0.560^c	0.510^e	0.483^f	0.560^c	0.660^a	0.470^f	0.630^b	0.540^d
	± 0.004	± 0.004	± 0.004	± 0.009	± 0.004	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.004
Spleen (%)	0.120^ab	0.130^b	0.100^c	0.090^d	0.100	0.120^bc	0.130^b	0.168^a	0.110^bc
	± 0.008	± 0.014	± 0.000	± 0.008	± 0.000^cd	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.009	± 0.004
Pancreas (%)	0.490^c	0.340^e	0.353^d	0.370^d	0.370^d	0.600^a	0.340^e	0.553^b	0.330^e
	± 0.008	± 0.004	± 0.003	± 0.004	± 0.004	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.009	± 0.012
Bursa of Fabricious (%)	0.260^b	0.260^b	0.250^b	0.180^d	0.200^c	0.270^b	0.190^cd	0.210^c	0.380^a
	± 0.004	± 0.004	± 0.004	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.014	± 0.008	± 0.004	± 0.012

Note: ^a-gMeans with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different at P < .05.

Table 7. Percentage of internal organs to LBW of broiler chickens at day 36 of age. (Means ± SE).

Treatments Parameters	C1 vaccines+ antibiotics	C2 vaccines	C3 No vaccines No antibiotics	T1 1%/1 wk	T2 1%/2 wk	T3 1.5%/1 wk	T4 1.5%/2 wk	T5 2%/1 wk	T6 2%/2 wk
Liver (%)	3.513^c	3.850^a	3.070^g	3.430^d	3.363^e	3.778^b	2.690^i	3.180^f	2.870^h
	± 0.014	± 0.020	± 0.008	± 0.012	± 0.028	± 0.031	± 0.037	± 0.012	± 0.008
Gizzard (%)	2.640^a	2.680^a	2.673^a	0.210^e	2.450^c	2.550^b	2.100^e	2.450^c	2.305^d
	± 0.016	± 0.033	± 0.034	± 0.040	± 0.020	± 0.020	± 0.040	± 0.020	± 0.041
Proventriculus (%)	0.548^b	0.590^a	0.490^e	0.488^e	0.478^e	0.510^cde	0.460^e	0.520^cde	0.500^de
	± 0.021	± 0.007	± 0.012	± 0.005	± 0.015	± 0.004	± 0.004	± 0.008	± 0.011
Heart (%)	0.563^ab	0.600^a	0.493^cd	0.490^cd	0.480^cd	0.513^bcd	0.460^d	0.520^bc	0.500^cd
	± 0.04	± 0.021	± 0.012	± 0.008	± 0.012	± 0.005	± 0.016	± 0.008	± 0.011
Spleen (%)	0.120^a	0.120^a	0.110^ab	0.093^c	0.108^abc	0.110^abc	0.095^c	0.108^abc	0.100^bc
	± 0.007	± 0.008	± 0.011	± 0.009	± 0.005	± 0.004	± 0.006	± 0.005	± 0.004
Pancreas (%)	0.320^bc	0.328^bc	0.300^c	0.315^bc	0.348^ab	0.320^b	0.270^c	0.310^b	0.380^a
	± 0.008	± 0.015	± 0.015	± 0.013	± 0.009	± 0.008	± 0.020	± 0.004	± 0.025
Bursa of Fabricious (%)	0.270^a	0.230^b	0.258^ab	0.240^b	0.240^b	0.160^d	0.170^d	0.200^c	0.238^b
	± 0.012	± 0.008	± 0.009	± 0.008	± 0.004	± 0.008	± 0.008	± 0.009	± 0.007

Note: ^a-f Means with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different at P < .05.

Table 8. Blood biochemical measurements at day 28 of age of broiler chickens fed nanoclay. (Means ± SE).

	C1 Vaccine+ antibiotic	C2 Vaccine	C3 No vacc No antib	T1 1%/1 wk	T2 1%/2 wk	T3 1.5%/1 wk	T4 1.5%/2 wk	T5 2%/1 wk	T6 2%/2 wk
Total protein (mg/dl)	5.31^c  ± 1.09	2.45^de  ± 0.66	2.30^e  ± 0.31	2.82^de  ± 0.45	3.67^d  ± 0.64	7.60^ab  ± 0.90	6.83^b  ± 0.78	8.84^a  ± 0.44	8.57^a  ± 0.95
Albumen (mg/dl)	1.93^bc  ± 0.29	1.66^cd  ± 0.21	1.53^d  ± 0.25	1.29^d  ± 0.23	2.09^b  ± 0.14	2.03^bc  ± 0.20	1.77^cd  ± 0.18	2.49^a  ± 0.19	2.35^ab  ± 0.25
Globulin (mg/dl)	3.38^c  ± 0.91	0.79^e  ± 0.33	0.77^e  ± 0.25	1.53^d  ± 0.43	1.58^d  ± 0.53	5.57^ab  ± 0.64	5.05^b  ± 0.40	6.35^a  ± 0.40	6.22^a  ± 0.59
Cholesterol (mg/dl)	241.45^a  ± 19.02	107.63^d  ± 14.79	128.86^bc  ± 16.10	123.82^cd  ± 18.76	125.89 ^cd  ± 9.74	156.41^bc  ± 15.30	145.63^bc  ± 12.65	109.09^d  ± 12.12	165.78^b  ± 13.00
HDL (mg/dl)	36.23^c  ± 2.30	22.58^d  ± 0.66	18.37^e  ± 2.70	19.06^e  ± 1.08	39.23^c  ± 2.30	70.75^ab  ± 15.05	50.46^bc  ± 14.43	80.79^a  ± 3.45	76.76^a  ± 4.33
LDL (mg/dl)	205.22^a  ± 18.00	85.05^c  ± 18.83	110.49^b  ± 14.58	104.67^b  ± 15.57	86.66^b  ± 12.57	85.66^c  ± 12.30	95.17^bc  ± 13.03	28.30^d  ± 3.93	89.02^b  ± 11.89
Triglycerides (mg/dl)	147.45^a  ± 18.15	105.46^b  ± 10.51	123.12^ab  ± 12.35	101.28^bc  ± 9.72	110.12^b  ± 13.20	143.53^a  ± 13.00	136.18^a  ± 12.57	85.54^c  ± 10.04	145.50^a  ± 12.82

Note: ^a-dMeans with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different at P < .05

Table 9. Blood biochemical measurements at day 36 of age of broiler chickens fed nanoclay (Means ± SE).

	C1 Vaccine+ antibiotic	C2 Vaccine	C3 No vacc No antib	T1 1%/1 wk	T2 1%/2 wk	T3 1.5%/1 wk	T4 1.5%/2 wk	T5 2%/1 wk	T6 2%/2 wk
Total protein (mg/dl)	2.10^b  ± 0.09	1.68^c  ± 0.13	1.44^d  ± 0.07	2.05^b  ± 0.14	1.98^b  ± 0.15	2.18^ab  ± 0.14	2.30^ab  ± 0.21	2.43^a  ± 0.21	2.41^a  ± 0.24
Albumen (mg/dl)	0.96^bc  ± 0.15	0.83^c  ± 0.11	0.88^c  ± 0.05	1.03^bc  ± 0.16	1.45^a  ± 0.18	0.87 ^c  ± 0.14	0.92^bc  ± 0.11	1.00^bc  ± 0.20	1.16^b  ± 0.10
Globulin (mg/dl)	1.14^b  ± 0.12	0.85^c  ± 0.16	0.56^d  ± 0.07	1.02^bca  ± 0.17	0.53^d  ± 0.14	1.31^ab  ± 0.20	1.38^ab  ± 0.34	1.43^a  ± 0.15	1.25^ab  ± 0.15
Cholesterol (mg/dl)	175.88^b  ± 7.35	175.44^b  ± 8.31	174.74^b  ± 5.46	156.23^c  ± 5.55	178.70b  ± 5.06	175.70^b  ± 9.15	184.87^ab  ± 9.56	172.53^cb  ± 10.45	193.11^a  ± 6.61
HDL (mg/dl)	103.68^c  ± 6.89	100.00  ± 4.20	83.33^a  ± 5.14	93.63^d  ± 5.10	101.56^cd  ± 4.85	107.06^b  ± 5.22	116.64^ab  ± 5.06	124.57^a  ± 9.24	120.71^a  ± 5.60
LDL (mg/dl)	72.20^bc  ± 2.37	67.24^c  ± 5.50	91.41^a  ± 2.20	62.60^d  ± 6.80	77.14^b  ± 3.87	68.47^b  ± 5.18	68.23^c  ± 4.41	47.96^e  ± 3.81	72.40^bc  ± 5.10
Triglycerides (mg/dl)	136.18^a  ± 3.15	135.37^a  ± 3.92	124.40^bc  ± 5.19	121.23^c  ± 3.92	133.34^ab  ± 5.40	138.59^a  ± 5.54	135.41^a  ± 5.95	126.25^b  ± 3.29	137.24^a  ± 5.88

Note: ^a-dMeans with different superscripts in the same row are significantly different at P < .05.