Growth performance and meat quality of broilers fed with microencapsulated organic acids

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine whether the addition of microencapsulated organic acids to replace conventional performance enhancers gives rise to adequate zootechnical performance, quality of chicken meat and animal health. We used 640 birds, divided into four groups with eight repetitions per group (n = 20), as follows: 1) negative control (NC): only basal feed; 2) positive control (PC): basal feed with antibiotics and coccidiostatic agents; 3) dose recommended by the manufacturer of organic acid according to the age of the birds (OA-R: days 1 to 21 – 3.0 kg/Ton; days 22 to 33 - 2.0 kg/Ton; days 34 to 42 - 1.0 kg/Ton); 4) test dose of organic acid (OA-T: days 1 to 21 - 2.2 kg/Ton; days 22 to 33 - 1.5 kg/Ton; days 34 to 42 - 0.75 kg/Ton). Zootechnical performance was measured on days 7, 21 and 42. Excreta were collected for parasitological analysis and total bacterial count on days 21 and 42. Blood samples were collected at 42 days of age for biochemical, hematological, and enzymatic analyses. At 42 days, eight birds per treatment were euthanized for meat quality analysis and fatty acid profile measurement. Birds supplemented with organic acids showed a production efficiency index equal to that of the PC (P