Performance Indices, Carcass Characteristics, Organs, and Thermal Stress Responses of Broiler Chicken Exposed to Dietary Betaine Hydrochloride During Hot Season

Abstract

The impact of varied levels of betaine hydrochloride on performance indices, carcass characteristics and thermal stress of broilers during the hot season was assessed by this study. 180 day-old broiler chicks were distributed into 5 treatments labeled T1, T2, T3 and T4 randomly. Replicated three times, each treatment had 36 birds while 12 birds were allotted to each replicate. The treatments were as follows: T1 (control: 0 g of betaine/kg feed); T2 (1 g of betaine/kg feed); T3 (2 g of betaine/kg feed); T4 (3 g of betaine/kg feed); and T5 (4 g of betaine/kg feed). The birds were placed on these diets for 10 weeks. From the findings, it was found that the growth parameters were not different, with no significant (p>0.05) changes in the weights of the primal cuts when compared with the birds on the control diet. At weeks 7 to 10, there was a decrease in the panting rate of the broilers as betaine level increased, implying that the addition of betaine in the broiler diets lowered their thermal stress. In weeks 3 to 10, the rectal temperatures were not different apart from week 8 which was affected significantly. From these results, it is evident that commercially produced betaine HCL administered at 2g/kg diet can enhance broiler chicken performance during the hot season.