RESEARCHES CONCERNING THE USAGE OF A FEED ADDITIVE IN CHICKEN BROILERS FEEDING

Al. Usturoi, I.M. Pop

Abstract
The main goal of this paper was to establish and reveal the role played by the BABY C₄ (acidifier) feed additive in the chicken broilers rearing.
The studied flock included 160 individuals, allocated in 4 groups: a control group -L_c and three experimental groups - E₁, E₂, E₃. A specific percentage of feed additive inclusion has been established for each group, during a certain technological period, as it follows:
- L_c = mixed fodder, standard formulated for each technological period;
- E₁ = +0.3% BABY C₄ during starter period (1-7 days) and standard feed during the other periods;
- E₂ = +0.3% BABY C₄during starter period (1-7 days), +0.2% during growing period (8-14 days) and standard feed during the finishing period;
- E₃ = +0.3% BABY C₄ during starter and growing period and standard feed during the finishing period.
The achieved results revealed that the chickens in the E₁ group achieved better body weight (+35.84g) and a better average daily gain (+1.14g/chick), compared to the hybrid potential and obviously higher than other groups.
The best results concerning feed consumption have been also achieved by the chickens in the E₁ experimental group (81.65g/chick/day-average intake and 1.490kg feed/kg weight gain - feed conversion ratio), compared to the chickens in the E₃ experimental group (87.5g/chick/day-average intake and 1.679kg feed/kg gain).

Key words: broiler, feeding, acidifier, feed intake, weight gain