Efficacy of the multienzyme complex Endofeed DC in corn-soy diets for broilers

Introduction

The beneﬁcial effects of enzyme supplementation (ES) of poultry diets based on cereals, such as wheat, barley and rye, are well established. However, the data available on the inﬂuence of enzymes on performance and digestive characteristics of broilers fed maize are limited and controversial. In general, the response to enzymes is lower for maize than for more viscous cereal diets. The purpose of the current trial was to assess the effect of enzyme supplementation of corn-SBM diets on performance and digestibility of broilers from 1 to 42 days of age.

Materials & Methods

A total of 528 one-day-old male and female Ross 308 chicks was used and allocated at random to the 2 experimental treatments. The experiment was carried out in 24 pens (replicates) of a 96-pen broiler house. The experimental design was completely randomised with 2 dietary treatments (Table 1) based on Endofeed DC supplementation, a commercial enzyme supplement that contains ß-glucanase and ß-xylanase. Each treatment was replicated 12 times and 22, half male and half female, broilers housed together formed the experimental unit. Replicates (pens) were allocated to the treatments for a homogeneous distribution of treatments within the house.

Table 1. Study design

Treatment	Endofeed DC
T1 Control	-
T2 Endofeed DC	125 g/t

The experimental diets were formulated by Imasde Agroalimentaria, S. L. For each feeding period (starter and finisher) and type of basal diet, all the diets were calculated to be isonutritive, and met or exceeded the nutrient requirements recommended by NRC (1994) for broiler chickens. The composition and the calculated analyses of the basal diets according to FEDNA (2003) values for composition of feed ingredients are presented in Table 2. Starter diets were offered to all birds from day-old until 21 days of age, and finisher diets from 22-42 days. The diets and water were provided ad libitum. The diets were presented to the birds as mash.

Table 2. Composition and calculated analyses of the basal diets

Ingredients, %	Starter (0-21 d)	Finisher (22-42 d)
Maize	47.08	49.53
Soybean meal, 44 % CP	40.30	35.51
Lard	6.20	8.87
Wheat middlings	2.00	2.00
Others¹	4.42	4.09
Calculated analyses²
AME_n, kcal/kg	3,000	3,200
Crude protein, %	22.0	20.0
Total lysine, %	1.34	1.16
Dig. lysine, %	1.16	1.00
Dig. methionine	0.57	0.53
Total met+cys, %	0.98	0.90
Dig. met+cys	0.87	0.80
Total threonine, %	0.90	0.81
Dig. threonine, %	0.75	0.18
Total tryptophan, %	0.26	0.24
Calcium, %	1.00	0.90
Av. phosphorus, %	0.45	0.45
Sodium, %	0.18	0.17

^{1DL-Methionine, L-Lysine HCl 78, L-Threonine, 98%, Calcium carbonate, Monocalcium phosphate, Salt and Vitamin & mineral Premix.}

^{2Based on FEDNA (2003) values for feed ingredients.}

The trial was carried out at the Broiler Floor Pen Unit of Imasde experimental facilities (Murcia, Spain). The birds were kept in 24 floor pens of a clean house equipped with 96 floor pens, each an area of 1.82 m2 (1.58 x 1.16 m), with fresh wood ss as bedding. Stocking density was around 13 chicks/m2 (22 chicks per pen), similar to that practised commercially.

Weight gains, feed intakes and feed conversion ratios of each pen of birds were determined at the end of each feeding period (i.e. at 21, and 42 days of age). EPEFs at 42 days were calculated by replicate: EPEF (European Production Efficiency Factor) [(mean daily gain (g))/(FCR*10)] x (100 - % mortality).

The basic statistical technique applied was Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The data were analysed as a completely randomised design by GLM of SAS v. 9.0 (SAS, 2002). The results are presented by periods in tables by using least squares corrected means. Statistical significance is declared at P ≤ 0.05, with 0.05

Results & Discussion

Endofeed DC supplementation of diets increased body weight of birds at 42 days of age (2,543 vs 2,612 g; P = 0.0136), but differences were no significant at 21 days of age (Table 3).

Table 3. Effect of dietary treatment on body weight of animals, g

Treatment	Body weight, g
No.	Endofeed DC	21 d	42 d
T-1	-	768	2,543^b
T-2	125 g/t	788	2,612^a
SEM (n=12)	8.4	18.1
Probability (P value)	0.1137	0.0136

During the starter period (from 0 to 21 d of age), no significant differences were observed for any of the parameters studied (Table 4). During the finisher period (from 22 to 42 d of age) broilers fed with Endofeed DC grew significantly more than Control birds (84.5 vs 86.8 g/d; P = 0.0169). No significant differences were observed for feed intake or feed conversion rate.

Table 4. Effect of dietary treatment on average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion rate (FCR)

Treatment	0-21 days	21-42 days
No.	Endofeed DC	ADG, g/d	ADFI, g/d	FCR, g/g	ADG, g/d	ADFI, g/d	FCR, g/g
T-1	-	34.6	53.7	1.55	84.5^b	141.8	1.68
T-2	125 g/t	35.6	54.9	1.55	86.8^a	141.8	1.64
SEM (n=12)	0.40	0.71	0.026	0.64	1.13	0.018
Probability (P value)	0.1144	0.2406	0.8746	0.0169	0.9687	0.1138

For the global period (from 0 to 42 d of age), Endofeed DC supplemented birds grew 2.7% more than Control birds (59.6 vs 61.2 g/d; P = 0.0137). No significant differences were observed for feed intake, feed conversion or EPEF (Table 5).

Table 5. Average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), feed conversion rate (FCR) and EPEF (European Production Efficiency Factor) for the whole experiment

Treatment	0-42 days
No.	Endofeed DC	ADG, g/d	ADFI, g/d	FCR, g/g	EPEF
T-1	-	59.6^b	97.8	1.64	354
T-2	125 g/t	61.2^a	98.3	1.61	360
SEM (n=12)	0.43	0.77	0.017	7.1
Probability (P value)	0.0137	0.6064	0.1795	0.5307

Conclusions

We conclude that, under our experimental conditions, the addition of Endofeed DC to broiler diets based on maize and soybean meal significantly improved growth over the whole experimental period (0-42 days of age).

Bibliography

FEDNA. 2003. Guidelines of the Spanish Foundation for Development of Animal Nutrition for the formulation of compound feeds. de Blas C, García P, Mateos GG (eds). Fundación Española para el Desarrollo de la Nutrición Animal. ETSIA (Madrid Polytechnical University), Spain.

National Research Council. 1994. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry. 9^th Rev. Ed. National Academy Press. Washington DC. USA.

SAS Institute. 2002. SAS^® User's Guide: Statistics. SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA.