Growth performance, carcass characteristics, serum biochemistry and digestive tract development in broiler chickens fed with chitosan oligosaccharide

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters and digestive tract development of Arbor Acres (AA) broilers. A total of 360, 1-day-old male broilers were selected and randomly divided into four groups with six replicates (15 in each). The experiment was divided into a control group (fed basal diet) and experimental groups (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg of COS in basal diet, respectively) and the birds were fed for 42 days period. The results reveled that addition of 150 mg/kg COS increased the average daily gain during 2242 d period (P<0.05). The relative weight of jejunum was reduced (P=0.05) in 200 mg/kg fed group compared to the control group. The duodenal villi length to crypt depth ratio in broilers fed a diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg COS was significantly higher than that of the control group. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 100 mg/kg COS could increase the growth performance of broilers.