Partial Replacement of Dietary Cholecalciferol with 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol on Broiler Chickens Subjected to a Coccidiosis Vaccine Challenge
2019
The objective of the present study was to compare the effect of cholecalciferol (D₃) and partial replacement of D₃ with 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D₃) on performance, intestinal integrity, vitamin D status, and bone mineralization of chickens subjected to a coccidiosis challenge. Broiler chicks were allocated to battery brooders for a 21-d trial period. Experimental treatments consisted of a basal diet devoid of D₃, plus D₃ supplemented at 5 (Control), 50, 100, 150, and 200 μg D₃ per kg of feed or the basal diet supplemented with D₃ at 25, 50, 75, 100 μg D₃/kg of feed in combination with 25, 50, 75, and 100 μg 25-OH-D₃ per kg of feed, respectively. On day 7 of the study, all birds were orally gavaged with a commercially available live coccidiosis vaccine. The results of the present study, suggested that dietary D₃ and 25-OH-D₃ at concentrations above the control group (50–200 μg/kg of feed) were effective (P < 0.05) to promote performance by improving feed conversion, final body weight and weight gain. Additionally, the replacement of D₃ with 25-OH-D₃ (50% of total D₃) yielded better (P < 0.05) tibial mineralization (in average 3% higher), tibial breaking strength (in average 9% higher) and total plasma 25-OH-D₃ (in average 37% higher) in chickens subjected to the coccidiosis challenge. In conclusion, dietary replacement of D₃ with 25-OH-D₃, could provide a better margin of safety than feeding D₃ alone as a nutritional strategy to ameliorate the health and performance challenges associated with live coccidiosis vaccination.
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