Heat stress negatively affects broiler welfare and productivity. We can reduce heat stress through various nutritional strategies, such as adding vitamins and minerals to broiler diets. We conducted a trial with Ross 308 broilers. Starting on day 26, the chickens were exposed to an elevated temperature above 30 °C in the barn. We included 60 broilers in the experiment, which were divided into 3 experimental groups. The first group was fed a complete feed mixture (PKM) according to the recommendations of the NRC (group N), the second was fed PKM according to the dietary recommendations for Ross 308 chickens (group R), and the third group was fed a feed mixture in addition to the recommendations of Ross 308 and received 200 IU vitamin E/kg, 250 mg vitamin C/kg PKM, and 0.200 mg selenium/kg (group R+ECS). During the experiment, the health status of the chickens was monitored by observation and measurement of mortality. Chickens were weighed weekly and feed intake was also monitored. At slaughter, the carcass, individual parts of the carcass, and organs were weighed. It was found that heat stress and administration of various antioxidants affected mortality. The highest mortality was found in group N. Heat stress negatively affected the growth and final weight of the chickens, with higher growth and weight measured in groups R and R+ECS. Further studies need to be conducted to determine at what concentration a single vitamin-mineral supplement affects the productivity of chickens exposed to heat stress in summer.
|
