Probiotic supplementation in alleviating stress in broiler chicken

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation in alleviating overcrowding stress and improving production performance in broiler chicken.The study was conducted in two phases, Phase I -in summer season, Phase II -in rainy season.In each phase 36 birds of one month of age was used for the study.Results of the study revealed that, in both phases of study overcrowding reduced the weekly body weight.Average weekly body weight gain was not affected by overcrowding.The weekly feed intake of birds reduced without much effect on body weight gain which thereby improved the feed efficiency.Probiotic supplementation further improved the feed efficiency.Overcrowding (348 cm 2 /bird) increased the H/L ratio of birds which was indicative of stress.The H/L ratio of 0.81 noticed in eight week old birds in summer indicated severe stress in them.In eight week old birds reared in summer the stress was more than those reared in rainy season.Probiotic supplementation was very effective in reducing stress and improving production during summer season.