Efficacy of a nucleotide preparation in broiler chickens

Availability of nucleotides may limit performance in fast growing animals. An experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of a nucleotide preparation (Nucleoforce Poultry) in broiler chickens. Nine hundred and sixty day-old broiler chickens were allocated into 24 pens, and assigned one of 3 treatments: 0, 500 and 1000 mg of the nucleotide preparation/kg feed. Feeds were based on wheat, barley and soybean meal. The starter diet, till 21 days contained 21.5 % protein, the grower diet till 39 days 20 % protein, and the withdrawal diet 18 % protein. Performance was determined at 21 and at 42 days. Results were analyzed as a randomized complete block design. At 21 days, the nucleotide preparation at 500 mg/kg feed significantly improved body weight by 1 % and by 1.9 % feed to gain ratio, while at 1000 mg/kg there was no significant effect. There were no significant effects between 21 and 42 days but body weight and feed to gain ratio were numerically better in the treatments containing nucleotides. In the overall experiment, the nucleotides at 500 mg/kg significantly improved feed to gain ratio. Results suggest that the nucleotide preparation at 500 mg/kg significantly improves the performance of broiler chickens.