Efficacy of Early Feeding with Probiotic-Fermented Feed in Promoting Growth Performance, Immunity, Antioxidant Activity, Gene Expression, and Gut Integrity in Ostrich Chicks (Struthio camelus)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of early feeding with probiotic-fermented feed on growth performance, intestinal microbiota structure, immune responses, and gene expression. Two hundred and forty-one-day-old African ostrich chicks were randomly divided into three groups (eight replicates/group). The control group was fed a basal diet (CON), whereas the PELF3 and PELF6 groups were fed the probiotic-fermented feed for the first 3 or 6 days post-hatching, respectively, after which, all chicks were fed the basal diet for 56 days. The results showed that adding PELF3 or PELF6 significantly enhanced body weight gain and the feed conversion ratio. Chicks fed PELF had higher superoxide dismutase (SOD, <i>p</i> < 0.05), immunoglobulin A (IgA), and IL-10 levels and lower IL-6 and malondialdehyde (MDA, <i>p</i> < 0.05) levels than those fed CON. Plasma cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), creatinine, uric acid, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels decreased; however, high-density lipoprotein (HDL, <i>p</i> < 0.05) levels increased in the PELF groups. The addition of PELF reduced the pathogenic counts in the intestines of chicks (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Moreover, increased expression of IGF-1 and MUC-2 genes was observed in the PELF3 and PELF6 groups, whereas the expression of SLC15A1 increased in the PELF6 group. In conclusion, growth performance, immunity, gene expression, oxidative stability, and gut microbiota can all be significantly enhanced by early feeding with PELF. This study demonstrated an effective technique for applying early feeding of PELF in ostrich chicks.