Effect of probiotic preparations (EM) and sex on morphometric characteristics of the digestive system and leg bones, and caecal microflora in broiler chickens

Figures & data

Table 1. Chemical composition of diets for broiler chickens.

Chemical analysis	Starter	Grower 1	Grower 2	Finisher
	0–8 d	9–24 d	25–32 d	33–42 d
DM, %	89.58	87.93	89.79	89.96
CP, %	23.08	22.45	22.10	21.63
Crude fat, %	5.41	5.45	5.52	4.80
Crude fibre, %	2.21	1.60	2.00	2.24
Crude ash, %	3.75	4.67	4.45	4.59
ADF, %	5.66	4.74	4.44	5.36
NDF, %	10.19	9.26	9.60	10.27
ME, MJ/kg	12.60	13.20	13.33	13.09

DM, dry matter; CP, crude protein; ADF, acid detergent fibre; NDF, neutral detergent fibre; ME, metabolizable energy.

Table 2. Composition of diets for broiler chickens.

Ingredient	Grower 1	Grower 2	Finisher
(%)	9–24 d	25–32 d	33–42 d
Trouw Nutrition DKAG Plus Concentrate	5.0	5.0	–
Lidermix DKA-F E Fito Trouw Nutrition	–	–	2.0
Soybean meal	25.0	22.0	22.0
Raw soybean oil	3.5	4.2	4.7
Ground limestone	-	-	0.75
Feed wheat	66.5	68.8	70.55

Table 3. Microbial profile of EM probiotics.

Determination target	Cell count (cfu/ml)
	Pro-Biotyk (Em-15)	EMFarma
Lactobacillus spp.	1.5 × 10^7	5.0 × 10^6
Bifidobacterium spp.	1.0 × 10^3	2.0 × 10^5
Lactococcus spp.	8.0 × 10^6	4.0 × 10^6
Streptococcus thermophilus	8.0 × 10^4	6.0 × 10^6
Bacillus subtilis	3.0 × 10^2	1.1 × 10^2
Rhodopseudomonas spp.	3.0 × 10^2	<10^1
Saccharomyces cerevisiae	1.0 × 10^2	2.0 × 10^2

Table 4. Body weight, body and intestine length and their ratio in 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Body weight (g)	Length (cm)		Intestine: Body length ratio
			Body	Intestine
Control	Male	3120	29.9	282.5^b	9.4
	Female	2613	29.7	244.8^b	8.2^b
	Mean	2866*	29.8	263.7^b*	8.8^b*
Experimental	Male	3135	30.2	291.3^a	9.6
	Female	2635	29.8	268.1^a	9.0^a
	Mean	2880*	30.0	279.7^a*	9.3^a*
Pooled SE		45.4	0.2	3.9	0.1
Group		0.804	0.743	0.037	0.025
Sex		<0.001	0.088	0.001	0.022
Group × sex		0.990	0.397	0.402	0.763

*Statistically significant differences determined between males and females in columns within group (P < 0.05).

Table 5. Length of intestine segments in 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Length (cm)
		Duodenum	Jejunum	Ileum	Caecum	Rectum
Control	Male	34.5	97.8	96.5	45.7	8.0
	Female	31.8	80.2	82.6	42.5	7.7
	Mean	33.2*	89.0*	89.5*	44.1	7.9
Experimental	Male	37.0	99.0	99.7	47.8	7.8
	Female	32.7	88.8	95.2	43.1	8.3
	Mean	34.9*	93.9*	97.4	45.5	8.0
Pooled SE		0.5	1.6	1.6	0.9	0.3
Group		0.141	0.160	0.055	0.592	0.839
Sex		0.004	0.005	0.027	0.133	0.950
Group × sex		0.452	0.279	0.237	0.757	0.678

^a,bMeans of traits in columns within sexes, marked with different letters differ significantly (P < 0.05).

*Statistically significant differences determined between males and females in columns within group (P < 0.05).

Table 6. Diameter of intestine segments in 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Diameter (mm)
		Duodenum	Jejunum	Ileum	Caecum	Rectum
Control	Male	11.8	11.4	9.0	10.1	8.2
	Female	13.6	10.4	9.0	9.3	7.8
	Mean	12.7*	10.9*	9.0	9.7	8.0
Experimental	Male	12.3	11.1	10.6	10.4	8.7
	Female	13.6	10.7	9.5	10.4	7.3
	Mean	13.0*	10.9*	10.1*	10.4	8.0
Pooled SE		0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
Group		0.599	0.937	0.059	0.236	0.989
Sex		0.010	0.222	0.305	0.514	0.177
Group × sex		0.620	0.566	0.259	0.465	0.509

^a,bMeans of traits in columns within sexes, marked with different letters differ significantly (P < 0.05).

Table 7. Weight of main internal organs in 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Weight (g)
		Liver	Heart	Proventriculus	Gizzard	Spleen
Control	Male	51.6	10.5	8.4	48.8	3.0
	Female	47.5	9.8	7.9	46.7	2.7
	Mean	49.6	10.2	8.2	47.8	2.9*
Experimental	Male	50.4	11.8	10.6	56.4	3.7
	Female	52.4	9.9	9.1	44.7	2.5
	Mean	51.4	10.9	9.9*	50.6*	3.1*
Pooled SE		0.9	0.2	0.2	1.4	0.1
Group		0.431	0.328	0.101	0.448	0.327
Sex		0.636	0.058	0.056	0.067	0.004
Group × sex		0.217	0.371	0.207	0.196	0.098

*Statistically significant differences determined between males and females in columns within group (P < 0.05).

Table 8. Percentage of main internal organs in 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Content in body weight (%)
		Liver	Heart	Proventriculus	Gizzard	Spleen
Control	Male	1.65	0.34	0.27^a	1.56	0.10
	Female	1.81	0.38	0.30^a	1.79	0.10
	Mean	1.73*	0.36	0.29^a	1.67	0.10
Experimental	Male	1.61	0.38	0.34^b	1.80	0.12
	Female	1.67	0.32	0.35^b	1.70	0.09
	Mean	1.64	0.35	0.34^b	1.76	0.11
Pooled SE		0.03	0.01	0.01	0.04	0.01
Group		0.451	0.489	0.002	0.562	0.106
Sex		0.003	0.533	0.314	0.625	0.210
Group × sex		0.203	0.447	0.366	0.221	0.493

^a,bMeans of traits in columns within sexes, marked with different letters differ significantly (P < 0.05).

*Statistically significant differences determined between males and females in columns within group (P < 0.05).

Table 9. Dimensions of the femur bone of 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Morphometric traits of femur bone (mm)
		GL	ML	GB	GD	SM	GC	GE
Control	Male	75.4	73.5	19.7	16.1	10.2	21.2	16.6
	Female	74.8	72.6	18.5	16.7	9.8	20.3	16.5
	Mean	75.1	73.1	19.1	16.4	10.0	20.8	16.5
Experimental	Male	75.6	73.2	20.1	16.5	10.8	21.7	16.8
	Female	73.0	71.2	17.9	15.8	9.6	19.7	16.4
	Mean	74.3*	72.2*	19.0*	16.2	10.2*	20.7*	16.6
Pooled SE		0.3	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2
Group		0.231	0.235	0.744	0.551	0.263	0.883	0.754
Sex		0.016	0.047	0.004	0.887	0.001	0.001	0.588
Group × sex		0.125	0.403	0.079	0.077	0.027	0.073	0.714

GL, greatest length; ML, medial length; GB, greatest breadth of proximal end; GD, greatest depth of proximal end; SM, smallest breadth of the corpus; GC, greatest breadth of the distal end; GE, greatest depth of distal end.

^a,bMeans of traits in columns within sexes, marked with different letters differ significantly (P < 0.05).

*Statistically significant differences determined between males and females in columns within group (P < 0.05).

Table 10. Dimensions of the tibia bone of 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Group	Sex (n = 12)	Morphometric traits of tibia bone (mm)
		GL	AL	GD	SB	SD	DD
Control	Male	98.7	97.1	26.2	7.6	19.9	14.3
	Female	98.1	96.1	25.1	7.5^a	18.9	13.8
	Mean	98.4	96.5	25.6	7.5	19.4	14.1
Experimental	Male	99.1	97.4	27.1	7.9	18.9	14.3
	Female	96.4	94.3	24.2	7.1^b	21.1	13.6
	Mean	97.7*	95.9*	25.7*	7.5*	19.8*	13.9*
Pooled SE		0.4	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1
Group		0.418	0.374	0.962	0.722	0.278	0.470
Sex		0.040	0.013	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.002
Group × sex		0.202	0.188	0.007	0.021	0.008	0.481

GL, greatest length; AL, axial length; GD, greatest diagonal of the proximal end; SB, smallest breadth of the corpus; SD, smallest breadth of the distal end; DD, depth of the distal end.

^a,bMeans of traits in columns within sexes, marked with different letters differ significantly (P < 0.05).

*Statistically significant differences determined between males and females in columns within group (P < 0.05).

Table 11. Caecal microflora of 42-day-old broiler chickens.

Item	Group-cell count (cfu/ml)
	Control	Experimental
Anaerobic bacteria	3.1 × 10^7	1.9 × 10^7
Lactic acid bacilli	2.8 × 10^10	2.3 × 10^10
Total fungal count	5.4 × 10^10	5.8 × 10^11