Effects of feeding dry fat and yeast culture on broiler chicken performance

A feeding trial with 400 male broilers (Ross) was conducted to investigate the effect of using dry fat and 2 levels of yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on performance, blood glucose, cholesterol, calcium, phosphorus, cobalt, copper, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. One-day-old broilers were distributed among 4 treatments, with 4 replicates and 25 chicks/replicate. The treatments were: diet 1 (basal diet with maize oil, group T1), diet 2 (basal diet with dry fat, group T2), diet 3 (basal diet with dry fat + 2 kg of yeast culture/t diet, group T3), and diet 4 (basal diet with dry fat + 3 kg of yeast culture/t diet, group T4). Measurements included body weight gain, feed intake and conversion, serum parameters, carcass weight, and abdominal fat. The inclusion of dry fat and 3 kg of yeast culture/t improved body weight gain and feed conversion (P < 0.05) compared with chicks from groups T2 and T3, but no differences were observed when compared with the control group. The serum cholesterol levels were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced by adding the yeast culture when compared with chicks from the control and T2 groups. Furthermore, the abdominal fat percentages were significantly lower in chicks from groups T1, T3, and T4 compared with that of group T2. The Co and Zn concentrations in the liver were significantly reduced (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively) by feeding of yeast culture, but no effect was observed for Cu, Mn, and Mg concentrations. In conclusion, the addition of yeast culture (3 kg/t) to diets containing dry fat improves broiler growth performance and positively affects the carcass characteristics by reducing the abdominal fat and blood cholesterol level.