Effect of adding L-carnitine and Protexin® probiotic on performance and some blood parameters of ostrich chickens

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of adding L-carnitine and Protexin® probiotic on performance and some blood parameters of ostrich chickens. In this study, a total of 48 one-day old ostrich chicks randomly divided into four treatment groups. Each treatment comprised of 4 replicates and 3 animals in each replicate and reared for 8 week. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design. The dietary treatments were: Treatment 1 (Control): Basal diet without supplementation; Treatment 2: Protexin® probiotic with level of 1 kg/t; Treatment 3: L-carnitine 500 mg/kg diet; Treatment 4: Protexin® probiotic with level of 500 kg/t + L-carnitine 250 mg/kg diet. The results of this study indicated that diet supplementation with L-carnitine and Protexin® probiotic increased ostrich chickens weight and feed intake at 8 weeks of age in comparison to other treatment groups. The other results showed no significant differences in feed conversion ratio (FCR) among different treatments at 8 week of ages and Broilers receiving L-carnitine + Protexin® probiotic had lowest FCR compared to the other tratment groups. Furthermore, diet supplementation with L-carnitine and Protexin® probiotic increased blood glucose concentration of ostrich chickens at 8 weeks of age in comparison to other treatment groups. Futher result showed that birds received L-carnitine + Protexin® probiotic had lowest total cholesterol in compersion to other treatment groups and birds receiving L-carnitine and Protexin® probiotic had lower HDL, LDL, and VLDL concentrations in compersion control group. There were no significant effect in calcium and phosphorus concentrations between control and other treatment groups

L-carnitine; Protoxin; Probiotic; Growth promoters; Blood parameters; Nutritional supplements