Growth performance, carcass yield, and retail cut properties of stressed broiler chickens (Gallus domesticus) supplemented with rice-washed probiotics

The study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance, carcass yield, and meat retail cut properties of stressed broiler chickens supplemented with different levels of rice-washed probiotics. Two hundred-day-old broiler chicks were randomly distributed into four (4) treatments following the Complete Randomized Design. Treatments were: T1- Control (w/o probiotics); T2- 15 ml/lit probiotics: T3 – 20 ml/lit probiotics: T4 – 25 ml/lit probiotics. Chicken exposure to light was limited to only 16 hours per day to facilitate stress, which is turned off every 4:00 pm up to 12 midnight throughout the experimental period of 42 days. Based on Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results revealed that growth parameters including slaughter weight, carcass weight, and thigh weight were significantly (p≤0.05) affected by the supplementation of rice-washed probiotics. Thus, the study concluded that rice-washed probiotic supplementation at a level of 20 ml/lit and 25 ml/lit can be effectively utilized in enhancing the performance and carcass yield of broiler chickens under light stressed conditions.