Improvement of Small Intestine Morphometry in Broiler Chicken Using Fermented Cow and Soymilk as Probiotic

Abstract

Background and Objective: Probiotics have been reported to have positive effect on gut morphology and subsequent performance of poultry birds. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of fermented soy and cow milk as probiotic on small intestine morphometry of broiler chicken. Materials and Methods: 100 day old commercial broiler chicks were allocated to 4 treatment groups in a complete randomized design (CRD) and each treatment was replicated 4 times with 5 chicks in each replicate. The treatments consisted of birds fed: Only basal feed (T0), basal feed with 100% fermented cow milk (T1), basal feed with fermented cow milk+fermented soy milk in 50:50% ratio (T2) and basal feed with fermented cow milk+fermented soy milk with a 75:25% ratio (T3). Results: Use of fermented cow or soy milk as probiotic in the diet of broiler had no significant (p>0.05) effect on jejunal villus height when compared with the control group. However, there was an improvement in the jujunal villus width and number of villi in chicken fed fermented cow or soy milk as probiotic in the diet when compared with the control. Conclusion: Inclusion of dietary fermented cow or soy milk in the diet resulted in improvement in the morphometry and number of villi in the jejunum part of small intestine in broiler chicken.