Effect of Biotin Supplementation on Incidence of Acute Death Syndrome in Broiler Chickens

This study examined the effect of supplementary biotin on the incidence of acute death syndrome (ADS) and total mortality in a commercial flock of 64,000 broiler chickens. Biotin supplementation via the drinking water at 20 and 100 micrograms/day supplied 1.2 to 5 times or 6 to 25 times the level recommended by the National Research Council for different stages of growth from day-old to slaughter. Uptake of biotin was confirmed by radioisotopic analysis of liver biotin content of both ADS-affected birds and clinically normal birds. Treatment groups did not differ significantly from the control group with respect to total mortality, ADS mortality, feed conversion ratio, or slaughter weight. High levels of biotin supplementation neither prevented ADS nor reduced total mortalities in the flock.