Growth and blood profile of broiler rabbits on probiotic supplementation

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus sporogenes) on growth, blood profile and economic traits of broiler rabbits. Thirty weaned Soviet Chinchilla rabbits were randomly divided into three groups and fed experimental diets for a period of 8 weeks. The three treatments were-T1: basal diet without probiotic supplementation (control), T2: basal diet + probiotic supplementation @ 0.5 g/kg of feed and T3: basal diet + probiotic supplementation @ 1.0 g/kg of feed. The net body weight gain was significantly (P<0.01) higher in T2 (1545.1) and T3 (1572.8g) han T1 (1370.1). Total feed intake was comparable among the different groups. The feed conversion ratio was better in T3 (3.99) and T2 (4.05) probiotic supplemented groups compared to the control (4.67). The return from of rabbit was higher in T 2 and T 13 than in T. No significant differences were observed in blood metabolites except serum cholesterol which reduced significantly (P<0.05) in probiotic supplemented groups T2 (64.40) and T3 (60.40) than the control (70.00 mg/dl).The results indicated that dietary supplementation of probiotic (@ 0.5 g/kg of feed) in weaner rabbits improved body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and reduced serum cholesterol level along with more economic returns.