PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF FINISHING BROILERS FED DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH COMBINATION OF PROBIOTICS (B. cereus) AND PREBIOTICS (MANNOSE [MOS])

The experiment aimed to investigate effect of combination of probiotics and prebiotics on the performance and carcass characteristics of broilers at finishing phase. A total number of 300 day-old Anak broiler chicks were used to determine the response of broiler chicks to diets supplemented with probiotics (Bacillus cereus) and prebiotics (Mannose). The chicks were randomly allotted to four treatment groups of 75 birds with 25 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. The four dietary treatments comprised 500ppm MOS; 250ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS; 500ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS and 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS, respectively. Results showed that feed conversion ratio decreased significantly (P< 0.05) from 1.21 for groups fed det supplemented with 250ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS to 1.05 for groups fed with 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS  as more prebiotics were added to the probiotics. Final live weight, eviscerated weight and dressing percentage were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by combination of probiotics and prebiotics in finishing broilers. Final live weight values ranged from 2453.30g in birds fed 250ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS  to 2488.30g in birds fed 750ppm B. cereus  + 500ppm MOS, while eviscerated weight ranged from 1063.30g at 500ppm MOS to 1396.70g  at 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS. The same trend was observed for dressing percentage, neck, whole gizzard and liver. It was concluded that combination of probitics and prebiotics at 750ppm B. cereus + 500ppm MOS had positive effect on growth performance and carcass qualities of broilers at finishing phase.