Influence of Dietary Yeast Supplementation on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, and Economic Efficiency in Broiler Production
Merenlila Jamir
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
R. Zuyie
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
V. K. Vidyarthi
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
Catherine Rutsa
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
N. Savino
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
S. Adany
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
Gaurav Dubey *
Department of Livestock Production and Management, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Nagaland, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study evaluated the influence of dietary Saccharomyces cerevisiae supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits, and production economics in broiler chickens. A total of 160 day-old Cobb 430Y chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments, with five replicates of eight birds per treatment. The control diet contained no yeast (T1), while T2, T3, and T4 contained 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg yeast, respectively. Birds received commercial starter feed for the first 21 days and finisher feed thereafter until 42 days of age. Body weight, body-weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion efficiency, carcass characteristics, and economic returns were assessed. At six weeks, T4 recorded the highest final body weight (2665.75 g) and weekly body-weight gain (605.00 g), with a feed intake of 1521.15 g and the lowest feed conversion value (2.52). Significant treatment differences occurred in selected organ weights, whereas carcass weight and dressing percentage were not significantly affected. Economic evaluation showed that T4 generated the highest profit per bird (₹91.87), net profit per kilogram of live weight (₹34.40), and benefit–cost ratio (1.29), while also having the lowest production cost per kilogram of live weight (₹116.54). Under the conditions of this experiment, dietary yeast supplementation at 1.5 g/kg was associated with improved growth performance, feed efficiency, and economic returns without a significant change in carcass weight or dressing percentage.
Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, carcass traits