EO-FIT® POULTRY AS A POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO ANTIBIOTIC GROWTH PROMOTERS IN BROILER PRODUCTION

Many producers from regions where antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) are not allowed find themselves transitioning to an AGP-free production for commercial reasons. The aim of this trial was to determine whether EO-FIT® Poultry could reach similar production and health parameters compared to an AGP treatment used in broiler production. A total of 1,200 one-day-old chicks were distributed in 2 treatments within 12 floor pens. The treatments were: T1- basal feed + AGP (Enramycin 10ppm); T2- basal feed + EO-FIT® Poultry (1kg/t). The trial lasted 35d and performance parameters were recorded weekly. On day 21 and 35, one bird per pen was euthanized for intestinal and carcass analysis. There were no significant differences in the performance parameters at 35d. A trend was observed of higher BW (P=0.062) at 28d for EO-FIT® Poultry birds (1,708g) compared to AGP birds (1,671g), which relates to another trend (P=0.071) of increased daily gain from 21 to 28d (685g and 653g for EO-FIT® Poultry and AGP treatments respectively). A relevant finding was a significantly higher (P=0.034) mortality in AGP birds from 0 to 28d (4.83%) compared to EO-FIT® Poultry birds (3.00%). In the post mortem analysis, no differences were observed in intestinal segments in relative and total length. However, animals fed with essential oils showed a trend (P=0.077) to have heavier gizzards at 21d, which could indicate that of EO-FIT® Poultry promotes earlier development. No relevant findings were observed in carcass weights and yield. Precisely the lack of performance differences between both treatments suggest that EO-FIT® Poultry could be a valid alternative to AGPs, although further trials should be carried out to understand its potential.