Effects of Ground Thyme and Probiotic Supplements in Diets on Broiler Performance, Blood Biochemistry and Immunological Response to Sheep Red Blood Cells

Figures & data

Table 1. Ingredients and basal diet composition.

		Age, days
1-14	15-28	29-42
Ingredients, %
Corn	56.85	59.50	63.58
Soybean meal, 44% CP	39.00	34.30	30.00
Dicalcium phosphate	1.95	1.70	1.60
Oyster shell, 38% Ca	1.40	1.20	1.30
DL-Methionine	0.30	0.33	0.30
L-lysine	0.12	0.12	0.20
Common salt	0.33	0.30	0.30
NaHCO3	0.15	0.15	0.15
Micro ingredients premix^°	0.50	0.50	0.50
Sum	100	100	100
Calculated composition
Metabolizable energy, kcal/kg	2828	2940	3000
Crude protein, %	21.8	20.15	18.5
Calcium, %	1.05	0.90	0.90
Available phosphorus, %	0.50	0.45	0.42
Lysine, %	1.29	1.17	0.98
Total Sulfur Amino Acid, %	0.98	0.88	0.79
Sodium, %	0.18	0.18	0.18

°This premix supplied the following per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 12,000 U; vitamin D₃, 5000 U; vitamin E, 75 U; vitamin K₃, 3 mg; thiamin, 3 mg; riboflavin, 8 mg; pantothenic acid, 13 mg; niacin, 55 mg; pyridoxine, 5 mg; folic acid, 2 mg; biotin, 0.2 mg; coline, 1600 mg; manganese, 120 mg; iron, 40 mg; copper, 16 mg; iodine, 1.25 mg; zinc, 100 mg; selenium, 0.3 mg.

Table 2. Effects of antibiotic, probiotic and thyme on broiler performance.

	C	AB	P	T1	T2	SEM	P value
Feed intake, g/bird
0-14 d	408.6	411.4	410.6	425.7	393.0	4.087	0.089
0-21 d	948.2	890.9	1007.1	1058.8	930.4	23.27	0.214
0-28 d	1971	1811	2054	1975	2106	79.80	0.273
0-35 d	3450	3094	3513	3292	3345	137.89	0.543
0-42 d	5684	4887	5418	4977	5590	257.67	0.370
Body weight, g
4 d	75.14	74.80	75.14	74.43	75.14	0.26	0.899
14 d	360	368	374	366	356	5.67	0.971
21 d	633	623	646	646	601	8.86	0.132
28 d	1236	1228	1231	1243	1185	11.63	0.566
35 d	1869	1873	1852	1882	1752	28	0.614
42 d	2222	2452	2405	2428	2421	45.93	0.556
Feed conversion ratio
0-14 d	1.135	1.118	1.098	1.163	1.104	0.019	0.435
0-21 d	1.498	1.430	1.559	1.639	1.549	0.028	0.569
0-28 d	1.595	1.475	1.669	1.589	1.777	0.054	0.535
0-35 d	1.846	1.652	1.897	1.749	1.909	0.087	0.340
0-42 d	2.558	1.993	2.253	2.050	2.309	0.126	0.087

C, control treatment; AB, diet supplemented with 2.5 mg/kg avilamycin; P, diet supplemented with 0.1 g/kg commercial probiotic; T1, diet supplemented with 5 g/kg ground thyme; T2, diet supplemented with 7.5 g/kg ground thyme.

Table 3. Effects of antibiotic, probiotic and thyme on blood parameters and SRBC responses at 21 and 35 days of age, respectively.

Treatment	Total protein, g/dL	Albumin, g/dL	Cholesterol, mg/dL	Triglyceride, mg/dL	Calcium, mg/dL	Phosphorus, mg/dL	SRBC
C	4.89^b	2.23^b	146.21^a	80.85^a	7.67^e	3.93^e	5.50
AB	5.27^b	2.52^b	133.51^b	70.66^b	8.30^d	4.81^d	4.82
P	6.52^a	3.14^a	102.70^d	45.41^e	13.98^a	7.29^a	5.11
T1	4.15^c	1.45^c	121.00^c	61.45^c	10.74^b	5.31^c	5.83
T2	2.58^d	1.09^d	114.25^c	52.81^d	9.92^c	6.14^b	5.67
SE	0.221	0.129	2.619	2.132	0.353	0.188	0.215
P value	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.565

C, control treatment; AB, diet supplemented with 2.5 mg/kg avilamycin; P, diet supplemented with 0.1 g/kg commercial probiotic; T1, diet supplemented with 5 g/kg ground thyme; T2, diet supplemented with 7.5 g/kg ground thyme.

^a,b,cMeans with different superscript letter within a column are significantly different (P<0.05).