Effect of feeding antibiotic and probiotic on broiler performance

An experiment was conducted on broilers from 0–6 weeks of age to study the effect of supplementing antibiotic, probiotic and its combination on their performance. Four hundred day-old chicks were randomly distributed into four equal groups of ten replications. First group was control with basal diet, second basal diet with antibiotic (Colidox @ 0.50 g/Kg feed), third basal diet with probiotic (T-Loc plus @ 1 g/Kg feed) and fourth basal diet with both antibiotic and probiotic. Results indicated that the body weight at 6th week was significantly (P<0.05) higher in groups supplemented with either antibiotic or probiotic alone over control and antibiotic-probiotic combination. Significantly (P<0.05) higher feed intake was observed in antibiotic and probiotic alone groups over control. Feed conversion efficiency was significantly (P<0.05) improved in probiotic group over all other groups. The mortality rate, feed cost per Kg gain in body weight and gross return per bird were statistically similar in all the groups. It was inferred that broilers supplemented with probiotic performed better than all other groups.