Sources of trophic action on performance and intestinal morphometry of broiler chickens vaccinated against coccidiosis

ABSTRACT

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of sources of trophic action (glutamine alone, glutamine associated with glutamic acid and yeast) associated with vaccination against coccidiosis on the performance and morphometry of the small intestine of broilers. In the trial, 1,200 broiler chicks were distributed according to a completely randomized design with a 3 x 2 + 2 (trophic action x vaccination or not + control - free trophic factor) factorial arrangement, with five replicates of 30 birds each. Vaccination negatively affected performance parameters and the morphometry of the intestinal mucosa, but at the end of the experimental period, among the broilers vaccinated against coccidiosis, the group fed glutamine presented better recovery from epithelial losses of the intestinal mucosa compared with the control groups. Therefore, the dietary supplementation with the evaluated sources of trophic action could be a strategy to enhance the development of broilers submitted to vaccine stress, also considering the economic viability of the productive segment.