Betaine supplementation to methionine deficient diet improves growth performance, carcass characteristics, blood parameters and economic efficiency of broilers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of supplementary betaine on growth performance, carcass traits and some blood parameters in broilers fed methionine deficient diets. a total of two hundred and seventy day-old commercial broiler chicks Cobb 400, were randomly allotted to nine treatments of six equal replicates and each replicate having five birds (9x6x5=270). Nine iso-nitrogenous and is-ocaloric diets consisting of a control diet (CD), 25% and 50% methionine deficient diet and with graded levels of betaine (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0% levels) were formulated and fed to chicks from 1 to 42 days of age. The results revealed that supplementation of betaine at 0.3% level improved (<0.05) performance of broilers fed methionine deficient diets. Betaine supplementation to methionine restricted diet increased immunity and tolerance to oxidative stress and better net profit over feed cost of broilers. It was concluded that betaine supplementation at 0.3% level in broiler diets containing sub-optimal concentrations of methionine was effective in enhancing the overall performance of commercial broilers.