article · Animals
A trial on 360 broiler chicks evaluated the effects of three feeding methods: dry mash feed, unfermented wet feed, and wet feed fermented with the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis. Chickens fed standard wet feed showed reduced final body weight and weight gain alongside a poorer feed-to-gain ratio compared to the other diets. In contrast, birds receiving the fermented wet feed achieved growth performance comparable to those on dry feed, while showing improved crude protein digestibility. Fermented wet feed also increased the height of duodenal and ileal villi, supporting intestinal structure. In contrast, unfermented wet feed negatively altered the expression of several growth and lipid metabolism genes in muscle and liver tissues. Overall, whilst unfermented wet feed reduced bird efficiency under heat stress, fermenting the feed with Bacillus licheniformis restored performance and enhanced feed utilisation.
Poultry producers continually seek feeding strategies that improve nutrient uptake and bird growth, particularly during stressful conditions such as heat stress. This research demonstrates that fermenting wet feed with beneficial bacteria can prevent the performance drops typically associated with wet feeding, enhancing protein digestibility and gut health. These insights support efforts to optimise feed formulations for commercial broiler production.
The findings are applicable to poultry feed manufacturers and commercial broiler enterprises seeking alternatives to standard dry feed. Using Bacillus licheniformis fermentation provides a tested method to enhance wet feed utilisation and protein absorption under heat stress conditions. Because the research represents applied experimental trials on a cohort of 360 chicks, further validation at commercial farm scale would be required before industry adoption.
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The present study evaluated the effect of three feeding methods (dry feed, wet feed or wet feed fermented with <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i>) on the growth performance, intestinal histomorphometry and gene expression of the lipid metabolism- and growth-related genes of broiler chickens. A total of 360 one-day-old Cobb-500 broiler chicks were randomly allotted into three groups containing four replicates with 30 birds each. The first group (control) was fed a dry mash basal diet. The second and third groups were fed wet feed and fermented wet feed. The final body weight and weight gain were reduced (<i>p</i> < 0.01) in the wet feed group, while they did not differ between the fermented wet feed and dry feed groups. Feed intake was not altered, and feeding on wet feed significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.01) increased the feed-to-gain ratio compared to the remaining groups. No differences between the three feeding methods in carcass characteristics, blood biochemistry and nutrient digestibility were observed except for crude protein digestibility, which was increased (<i>p</i> < 0.01) in the fermented wet feed group. Duodenal and ileal villi heights were elevated in birds fed fermented wet feeds, while crypt depth was not altered. The expression fold of <i>IGF-1</i>, <i>GH</i> and m-<i>TOR</i> genes in the pectoral muscle of birds fed wet feed was decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05), while myostatin gene expression was elevated. Feeding on wet feed reduced the hepatic gene expression of <i>PPARγ</i> and increased that of <i>FAS</i>. In conclusion, wet feed negatively affected the broiler chickens' efficiency under heat stress; however, fermenting the wet feed with <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> improved feed utilization and birds' performance compared to the dry feed group.
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DOI: 10.3390/ani11010083
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