Comparative efficacy of various feed additives on the resistance of broilers to experimentally-induced caecal coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease of poultry that results in an increased morbidity and mortality. The resistance against coccidial drugs has urged the researchers to explore alternatives for disease control. Here, the effects of a prebiotic (Mannan-oligosaccharides), a probiotic mixture, neem (Azadirachta indica) fruit powder and a commercial coccidiostat (diclazuril) were compared after coccidial infection in broiler chickens. A total of 250 day-old chicks were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups, which were fed on basal diet (control group), basal diet + 0.5% diclazuril (diclazuril group), basal diet + 0.1% probiotic (probiotic group), basal diet + 0.1% Mannan-oligosaccharides (prebiotic group) and basal diet + 0.3% neem fruit powder (neem group). on d 14 of the study, each bird was challenged with 10 4 viable sporulated E. tenella oocysts. The performance of broilers, oocyst per g (OPG) of faeces and caecal lesion score were determined. The results showed that the prebiotic and probiotic groups performed better (P<0.05) in terms of body weight gain and feed conversion ratio, compared to the control and the other treatment groups. Oocyte shedding, morbidity (lesion score) and mortality were higher (P<0.05) in the birds of the control group as compared to the other treatment groups. In conclusion, coccidiosis lowers the production performance of broilers and the supplementation of prebiotics and probiotics can overcome the severe consequences of the disease.