Effect of phytase supplementation on performance of broilers fed low phosphorus diet*

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of Phytase (Nutrizyme-p) supplementation on broiler performance. Day-old, 250 broiler chicks were randomly divided into ten equal groups of 25 each. The chicks were fed five different diets viz. control (without phytase), 50% reduction in Dicalcium phosphate (DCP) with or without phytase and 75% reduction in DCP with or without phytase duplicated groups. Phytase was supplemented @ 1 kg/tonne of feed to replace 10 kg of DCP per tonne of diet. The live weight of broiler fed diet with 50% reduction in DCP supplemented with phytase was significantly higher compared to birds fed diet with 75% reduction in DCP with or without phytase, but was similar to that of control. The feed conversion ratio was similar in all groups. Supplementation of phytase significantly improved phosphorus content of tibia and toe. The cost of production for kg live weight was lowest in the group fed diet with 50% reduction in DCP supplemented with phytase. Therefore, it may be concluded that supplementation of phytase (Nutrizyme-p) @ 1 kg/tonne to reduce 50% DCP in the diet is beneficial in terms of performance and economics of broiler production.