Impact of dietary nucleotide supplementation on growth performance and survivability of white leghorn layers
Author(s): R Prabhakar, Beena C Joseph, Binoj Chacko, S Harikrishnan, K Raji and Jess Vergis
Abstract: An experiment was conducted at the Avian Research Station, Thiruvazhamkunnu, Kerala, to evaluate the impact of dietary nucleotide supplementation on growth performance and survivability of White Leghorn layers. A total of 160 birds, aged 15 weeks, were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments (T1: basal diet, T2: basal diet + 0.5 g nucleotide/kg, T3: basal diet + 0.75 g nucleotide/kg, T4: basal diet + 1.0 g nucleotide/kg) in a completely randomised design, with five replicates per treatment and eight birds per replicate. Following a two-week adaptation period (from 15 to 16 weeks) for nucleotide supplementation, the birds were fed with experimental layer diets from 17 to 40 weeks of age. The data for the experiment was collected over 24 weeks from 17 to 40 weeks of age, divided into six 28-day periods. Body weight at the 17thand 40thweeks of age and survivability across six experimental periods were recorded. In the 17th week, the treatment groups had no significant differences in body weight indicating the uniformity in the selection of birds for the experiment. However, in the 40th week, body weights were significantly higher (p<0.01) in T3 and T4 compared to T1 and T2. Similarly, weight gain between the 17thand 40th weeks was significantly higher (p<0.01) in T3 (356.63 g) and T4 (363.94 g) than in T1 (242.30 g) and T2 (258.96 g). Survivability varied across the six periods. The overall survivability was highest in T2 (90.20%) and T4 (90.20%), followed by T1 (85.20%) and T3 (85.20%). The results suggest that dietary nucleotide supplementation at 0.75 g/kg (T3) and 1.0 g/kg (T4) significantly improved growth performance, with marginal impacts on overall survivability. This study highlights the potential benefits of nucleotide supplementation in enhancing the growth performance of White Leghorn layers under standard management conditions.
How to cite this article:
R Prabhakar, Beena C Joseph, Binoj Chacko, S Harikrishnan, K Raji, Jess Vergis. Impact of dietary nucleotide supplementation on growth performance and survivability of white leghorn layers. Int J Vet Sci Anim Husbandry 2024;9(6):593-598.