Effects of Youtide on Broiler Chicken Production Performance
Abstract:
12,000 healthy 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens with an average weight of about 42g were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (0–21 days, basal diet + 35.0g/t Bacitracin Methylene Disalicylate (BMD); 22–42 days, basal diet + 20.0g/t Bacitracin Methylene Disalicylate (BMD)) and the experimental group (0–21 days, basal diet + 250g/t Youtide; 22–42 days, basal diet + 200g/t Youtide), with four replicates per group and 1,500 chickens per replicate. Results showed that compared to the control group, the experimental group exhibited improvements in feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion ratio across all stages and the entire period, although these differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The mortality rate over the entire period decreased by 35.06%.
Keywords: Youtide; broiler chickens; production performance; mortality rate
Antimicrobial peptides derived from animals are crucial effectors of the innate immune system. Numerous studies have shown that antimicrobial peptides possess antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antitumor, and immune-boosting properties, making them ideal substitutes for feed antibiotics. Youtide, developed by Guangdong Rongda Biology Co., Ltd., is a high-activity antimicrobial peptide product expressed using modern bioengineering techniques with Bacillus licheniformis as the host strain. This study investigates the effects of adding Youtide to the diets of 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens on their production performance, providing scientific evidence for antibiotic-free commercial broiler farming.
- Experimental Time and Location
– Experimental time: December 20, 2018, to January 30, 2019, lasting 42 days, with the initial phase from 0–21 days and the later phase from 22–42 days.
– Experimental location: A large broiler chicken enterprise in Zhaoqing, Guangdong.
- Materials and Methods
2.1 Materials
– Youtide: Provided by Guangdong Rongda Biology Co., Ltd.
2.2 Experimental Animals and Design
12,000 healthy 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens with an average weight of about 42g were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (0–21 days, basal diet + 35.0g/t BMD; 22–42 days, basal diet + 20.0g/t BMD) and the experimental group (0–21 days, basal diet + 250g/t Youtide; 22–42 days, basal diet + 200g/t Youtide), with four replicates per group and 1,500 chickens per replicate.
2.3 Experimental Diet
The basal diet formula was prepared according to NRC (1994) nutritional requirements. The composition and nutritional content of the basal diet are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Basal Diet Composition and Nutritional Content
| Composition | 0–21 days (%) | 22–42 days (%) | |
| Corn | 57.30 | 63.85 | |
| Soybean meal | 30.00 | 20.30 | |
| Cottonseed meal | 2.00 | 3.00 | |
| Rapeseed meal | 1.00 | 2.00 | |
| Corn gluten meal | 3.00 | 4.00 | |
| Fish oil | 2.50 | 3.00 | |
| Calcium carbonate | 1.60 | 1.50 | |
| Dicalcium phosphate | 1.30 | 1.05 | |
| Salt | 0.30 | 0.30 | |
| Premix | 1.00 | 1.00 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
| Nutritional Content | |||
| ME (MJ/kg) | 12.28 | 12.77 | |
| Cpr (%) | 20.56 | 18.43 | |
| Lys (%) | 1.13 | 0.91 | |
| Met (%) | 0.46 | 0.39 | |
| Trp (%) | 0.21 | 0.19 | |
| Thr (%) | 0.84 | 0.77 | |
| Ca (%) | 1.01 | 0.86 | |
| AP (%) | 0.35 | 0.33 |
Note: Each kg of feed contains phytase 100mg, Fe 85mg, Zn 120mg, Mn 105mg, I 1.1mg, Se 0.3mg, VA 12000IU, VD3 3300IU, VE 50IU, VK3 3.5mg, VB1 2.5mg, VB2 10mg, VB6 6mg, VB12 13ug, calcium pantothenate 20mg, niacin 45mg, biotin 150ug, folic acid 1.65mg, choline 500mg. Metabolizable energy calculated based on ingredient composition, others are measured values.
2.4 Management
Four-layer cage farming was used with free access to feed and water. Light, temperature, humidity, and immunization procedures in the chicken house were strictly in accordance with conventional management requirements. Temperature and humidity changes were recorded daily, and the health status of the flock was observed.
2.5 Measurement Indicators
Chickens were weighed after 12 hours of fasting (with free access to water) on days 1, 21, and 42. Feed consumption and the number of chickens were recorded to calculate the average weight, daily weight gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), feed-to-gain ratio (F/G), and mortality rate at each stage.
2.6 Data Statistics and Processing
Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 12.0 software. One-way ANOVA was used for variance analysis, and differences were considered significant at P<0.05. Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation.
- Results and Analysis
The effects of Youtide on broiler production performance are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Effects of Youtide on Broiler Production Performance
| Feeding Stage | Indicator | Control Group | Experimental Group | |
| ADFI（g/Bird） | 51.52±2.46 | 51.89±3.54 | ||
| 0～21d | AM（g/Bird） | 41.65±2.05 | 42.23±2.67 | |
| F/G | 1.24±0.18 | 1.23±0.13 | ||
| ADFI（g/Bird） | 133.16±3.67 | 133.55±5.41 | ||
| 22～42d | ADG（g/Bird） | 82.55±3.34 | 83.81±3.65 | |
| F/G | 1.61±0.11 | 1.58±0.18 | ||
| ADFI（g/Bird） | 92.34±5.22 | 92.72±7.72 | ||
| 0～42d | ADG（g/R） | 62.11±4.62 | 63.02±3.58 | |
| F/G | 1.49±0.07 | 1.47±0.13 | ||
| 0～42d | Mortality rate (%) | 4.25 | 2.76 | |
Note: Different letters within the same row indicate significant differences (P<0.05).
As shown in Table 2, adding Youtide to the basal diet improved feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed-to-gain ratio across all stages and the entire period compared to the control group, although the differences were not significant (P>0.05). The overall mortality rate decreased by 35.06%. This indicates that Youtide can achieve the same effects as BMD.
- Conclusion
In summary, adding Youtide to broiler diets can improve production performance and reduce mortality rate, making it a suitable substitute for antibiotics.
Qingyuan One Alive Institute of Biological
Research Co., Ltd.
2019.2.18
