INTEGRIDADE INTESTINAL E DESEMPENHO DE FRANGOS DE CORTE SUPLEMENTADOS COM PROBIÓTICOS, PREBIÓTICOS E ÁCIDOS ORGÂNICOS

In order to evaluate the intestinal integrity, through optical microscopy and scanning electronic (SE), and the performance of broilers receiving diets supplemented with additives instead of antimicrobial growth promoters 1080 male chicks were allocated in a population density of 12 birds / m 2 . The experimental design was a completely randomized arrangement with six treatments and six replications of thirty birds each. The treatments were: basal diet (control); basal diet + antimicrobial growth promoter (AGP); basal diet + probiotic; basal diet + prebiotic; basal diet + symbiotic; and basal diet + organic acids. The weight gain, feed intake, feed:gain ratio and the viability at days 10, 21, 35 and 42 were evaluated. At 42 th day, 72 birds (two birds per replicate of each treatment) were individually weighted and sacrificed. For morphometric evaluation of different tunics of intestinal wall, small intestine and caecum fragments from 2 birds per repetition were collected and for intestinal integrity analysis (SE) the same fragments were collected from 2 birds per treatment. At the first period of breeding alternative additives-fed chickens showed similar weight gain compared to AGP-fed chickens, but they did not differ from control group. The feed:gain of alternative additives-fed chickens from 1 st to 10 th days was better than control group, but for the others periods the feed:gain ratio was similar to AGP-fed birds, without differing from control group. The morphometric of different tunics of intestinal wall was not influenced by treatments. The alternative additives did not improve the intestinal integrity, neither the broiler performance during the whole breeding period.