Abstract

The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as a probiotic, compared to sodium butyrate as an organic acid on the productive performance of broiler chickens, with special attention to their economic efficiency. Therefore, 270 of one-day-old Hubbard broiler chickens were divided into 5 groups. The first group included chickens receiving basal ration without any treatment (and considered as a control group). The second group was composed of chickens treated with 0.2 g SB/kg, the third group embraced chickens treated with 0.3 g SB/kg, the fourth group included chickens treated with 0.2 g SC/kg, and the fifth group consisted of chickens treated with 0.3 g SC/kg. The obtained results showed that administration of sodium butyrate or yeast showed a significant improvement of final body weight (BW), body weight change, feed conversion ratio and performance index from third to fifth weeks of age. Nevertheless, all treated groups showed an insignificant effect in feed intake, compared to control group. Furthermore, the dietary addition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was detected more profitable than sodium butyrate addition. Accordingly, it can be concluded that sodium butyrate and yeast can be successively used as a natural substitute for antibiotic growth-promoting agents in the broiler chickens. Yeast can be considered as the most important alternative followed by sodium butyrate.