Evaluation Of Probiotic Supplementation In Improving Growth Performance, Survival Rate, And Water Quality In Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Culture

Abstract

Feed cost represents the largest proportion of broiler production expenses, encouraging the exploration of sustainable and cost-effective alternative feed resources. Fermentation has been recognized as an effective strategy for improving the nutritional quality and digestibility of locally available feed ingredients. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of fermented local feed supplementation on growth performance, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and carcass quality of broiler chickens. A total of 200 one-day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with five replicates of ten birds each. The dietary treatments consisted of T0 (basal diet), T1 (basal diet + 5% fermented local feed), T2 (basal diet + 10% fermented local feed), and T3 (basal diet + 15% fermented local feed). The feeding trial was conducted for 35 days. Growth performance, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and carcass characteristics were recorded and analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test at a significance level of P < 0.05. The results indicated that fermented local feed supplementation significantly improved body weight gain, final body weight, feed conversion ratio, dressing percentage, and breast meat yield while reducing abdominal fat deposition compared with the control treatment. Broilers receiving 10% fermented local feed (T2) consistently produced the best performance across all evaluated parameters. These findings demonstrate that supplementation with 10% fermented local feed is an effective nutritional strategy for improving broiler productivity, feed efficiency, and carcass quality while promoting the utilization of locally available feed resources for sustainable poultry production.