Effect of multi-carbohydrase enzymes and route of administration on broiler growth performance and caloric efficiency

Two studies were conducted to determine the effect of supplementing exogenous enzymes and route of administration on the growth performance and caloric efficiency of broilers. In study 1, 400 day-old (Cobb 500) broiler chicks were randomly allotted to treatments using randomized complete block design arranged as 2x2 factorial with the supplementation of enzyme (with vs. without) and route of administration (in feed vs. in water) as factors. There were 10 replicates (pens) per treatment with 10 birds per pen. Corn-soybean meal based diets were formulated in mash form and fed in a 3-phase feeding program. Enzyme in water was added in the dosage recommended by the manufacturer (100 ml/1000 L of water). Treatment 1 was the negative control having no enzymes on both feed and water. Treatment 2 has enzyme only in the feed. Treatment 3 has enzyme only in the drinking water. Treatment 4 has enzyme on both feed and water. Results showed that addition of enzyme in feed an/or water had no effect on growth performance, water intake and caloric efficiency of broilers. However, enzyme supplementation in feed increased (P less 0.0001) feed cost. In study 2, 36 day-old (Cobb 500) broiler chicks were brooded and transferred to individual metabolic cages. Birds were randomly allotted to treatments. There were 4 treatments with increasing dosage of liquid multi-carbohydrase enzyme in the drinking water (0, 100, 250, 250, and 500 ml/1000 L of water) with 9 replicates per treatment. Corn-soybean meal based diet was formulated and offered in crumble form. Results showed that increasing the dosage of the liquid enzyme did not improve the growth performance of the broilers. It also did not increase the AMEn of the diet or reduce moisture of the excreta. In conclusion, there were no interactive effects between the addition of multi-carbohydrase enzymes and route of administration in broilers. Also addition of the liquid multi-carbohydrase enzyme in the drinking water did not have any effect on growth performance and apparent metabolizable energy of the diet, thus supplementation of multi-carbohydrase enzyme via feed or water will only entail additional cost.