| Abstrakt: |
Sodium bicarbonate, a widely available feed ingredient (27.1% sodium and 71.9% bicarbonate), was tested at levels of 0 to 0.4% in broiler chicken diets. Pen trials were conducted across several seasons at two locations. Built-up litter offered a “natural” exposure to coccidia in all of the studies. Some tests included inoculation with oocysts of three Eimeria species (E. acervulina, E. maxima, and E. tenella) via drinking water at 14 days of age. Dietary sodium bicarbonate levels of 0.2 to 0.4% yielded significant improvements in body weight, feed efficiency, coccidial lesion scores, livability, carcass yield, breast yield, and occasionally, abdominal fat pad, although not all responses were found in all studies. A level of 0.1% sodium bicarbonate appeared ineffectual. The recommended range for continuous feeding of commercial broilers, day-old market age, at al times of year is 0.2 to 0.3%. Given commercial broiler performance improvements (and concomitant reductions in feed expense per unit of live weight) similar in magnitude to those achieved in these experiments, and a typical price only 2 to 3 times that of salt in the United States, sodium bicarbonate exhibits a favorable benefit: cost ratio in broiler production. |
