| Author(s) | H. A. Al-Shanti |
| Affiliation | Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Al–Azhar University, Gaza, Palestine |
| Title | The Effect of Adding Vitamin C, Potassium Chloride and Sodium Bicarbonate to the Water on the Performance of Broiler Chicks under Palestinian Summer Conditions |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Agricultural Sciences. Volume 17, No 2. (2005/1425) |
| Abstract | A four–water treatment experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of some water supplements on the performance of broilers reared under summer conditions (July–August) of Palestine. At the beginning of the 3rd week of age, 200 Anake 2000 broiler chicks with nearly equal live body weight were equally and randomly allotted to one of the following four treatments: 1) tap water without supplement served as the control, 2) tap water supplemented with 1.0 g vitamin C/litter water, 3) tap water supplemented with 10.0 g potassium chloride/litter water, and 4) tap water supplemented with 10.0 g sodium bicarbonate/litter water. The study lasted for 4 weeks. Feed, water and lighting were made available throughout the experimental period. Growth performance, carcass traits, blood constituents and economic benefits were determined. Final body weight and total weight gain were significantly improved by water supplements as compared with the control group. Percentages of carcass, heart, gizzard, giblets and total edible parts were insignificantly increased, while liver and abdominal fat percentages were insignificantly decreased by water supplements as compared to the control. Blood constituent measurements of total protein, albumin (A), globulin (G), A/G, cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, AST (aspartate transaminase), ALT (alanine transaminase), RBC (red blood cells), Hb (hemoglobin), Ht (heamatocrite), MCV (mean corpuscular volume), and electrolytes (Na+, K+, Ca+ and Cl-) did not significantly differ between the studied treatments, except that WBC counts were significantly increased by supplements used. Economically, water supplements improved net revenue of production, with superiority to vitamin C, relative to the control group. |
