Supplemental value of dried yeast in a high-fibre diet for broiler chicks

The supplemental effect of dried yeast on growth, feed intake, feed conversion and apparent nutrient retention of broiler chicks fed a high-fibre diet was studied for 28 days. One hundred and fifty 7-day-old broiler chicks were fed five high-fibre diets containing 250 g kg−1 palm kernel meal. The diets were supplemented with increasing levels of dried yeast: 0, 1.5 g kg−1, 3.0 g kg−1, 4.5 g kg−1 and 6.0 g kg−1. The unsupplemented treatment was the control. Dried yeast supplementation improved body weight gain of chicks, with the highest average daily gain being achieved by chicks fed 3.0 g kg−1 of dried yeast. Feed intake was similar on all treatments, except for the exceptionally lower consumption by chicks fed 6.0 g kg−1 dried yeast. Feed conversion efficiency was highest in chicks fed 6.0 g kg−1 of dried yeast and lowest in those fed the control diet. The apparent retention coefficients were higher with dried yeast supplementation, except those of acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin.