Effects of Lactobacilli and an Acidophilic Fungus on the Production Performance and Immune Responses in Broiler Chickens

ABSTRACT Accumulated lines of evidence indicate that inactivated probiotics could have beneficial effects similar to those of live probiotics. Two strains of dis-rupted, cobalt-enriched, lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei) and a disrupted fungal mycelium (Scytalidium acidophilum) were spray-mixed onto a mash basal feed, in 2 concentrations, prior to pel-leting. The effects of these probiotics on production per-formance and immune response in broiler chickens were investigated. The production parameters, including BW, feed intake (FI), BW gain (BWG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR), were monitored weekly during a 6-wk trial. The immune response was evaluated by immunizing the birds with the antigen keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) followed by a serological assay to measure blood IgA and IgG titers. Some of the production parameters were significantly improved by low L. casei (LCL; for BW an