Effect of Some Acidifiers on Gastrointestinal Tract Characteristics and Performance of Broiler Chickens

The effects of selko-ph (s; 1 ml/l drinking water); termin-8 (t; 2 kg/ton feed) and neogermicin (n; 2 l/ton feed) on gastrointestinal tract (git) ph, microbial population, ileal digestibility and broiler perform-ance were investigated. the lowest feed intake (fi) was attained by chickens fed diets supplemented with s group in all periods (p < 0.05). the highest weight gain (wg) was achieved by birds fed diet containing n set at 22-42 and 1-42 periods (p < 0.05). the highest and lowest feed conversion ratio (fcr) were obtained by control (c) and n groups at 22-42 and 1-42 days of age, respectively (p < 0.05). inclusion of acidifiers increased lactic acid bacteria and reduced total coliforms at different ages. the c and n treatments induced the lowest and greatest dry matter and gross energy digestibility coefficients, respectively (p < 0.05). more-over, ph of different parts of git were significantly diminished by acidifiers’ treatments compared to c group (p < 0.05). the results of current study have shown that acidifiers improved the gut microflora condi-tions by ph reduction. the digestibility of nutrients and energy utilization were superior by incorporated acidifiers, but s groups played a minor role in this regard.