Articles

Protein is an essential but expensive ingredient in broiler feeds, and the poultry industry still tries to find a way of balancing between cost-effectiveness and the desirable performance of chickens. One of the potential solutions to reducing feed costs is a reduction in dietary crude protein (CP), but these reductions tend to limit growth, feed efficiency and carcass quality by reducing the capacity to supply amino acids and their digestion. Dietary supplements which include exogenous protease enzymes and probiotics, especially Bacillus subtilis, have attracted significant concern in recent years due to their ability to improve nutrient utilization and general gut functionality. These additives have the ability to reduce the biological limitations of low-protein feeding by enhancing protein hydrolysis, stabilizing intestinal microbiota and enhancing mucosal health. There has been emerging evidence that when they are used together, they generate synergistic effects of improvement of weight gain, feed ratio, and nutrient digestibility. All these responses contribute to a more cost-effective, biologically efficient, and environmentally sustainable way of producing broilers.