ABSTRACT
We conducted an experiment to evaluate the effect of different inclusion rates and routes of administration of Ganoderma spp. on growth performance and gut morphology in broilers. We randomly assigned 320 one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) to eight treatments with the same basal diet. Performance parameters were food intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Treatments were a basal diet (NC) with 55 ppm of bacitracin methylene disalicylate BMC (PC), basal diet with Ganoderma at 50 ppm, 100 ppm, and 150 ppm in drinking water (WG50, WG100, WG150), and feed (FG50, FG100, FG150). Body weight gain was higher for FG150 compared with NC. Treatment FG150 and PC had the best indicators of intestinal morphometry, showing significant differences on villi height to crypt depth ratio compared with other treatments. Ganoderma supplementation may be an alternative for the replacement of growth-promoting antibiotics because it offers comparable results to those generated by bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BDM).
Keywords:
broiler; Ganoderma spp.; intestinal morphology; performance