The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of sodium butyrate microencapsulated in balm fat (NaB) on E. coli infected broiler chicken performance variables. One day-old Cobb chickens (n = 90) allotted into 3 equal groups (1-3) with 3 replicates of 10 birds each were used in this study for 35 days and these birds fed on mash diet. Birds of group1 fed on NaB in the following dietary levels; starter ration: 1 kg/ton, grower ration: 0.5 kg/ton and finisher ration: 0.25 kg/ton. Chickens of groups 2 and 3 fed on plain ration. Experimented chickens of groups 1 and 2 were individually infected with E. coli serogroup O78 in phosphate buffered saline for 2 successive days via crop gavages with 6×108 CFU/ml/bird. Birds of group 3 were kept without infection and served as blank control group. Referring to our results, NaB supplementation to E. coli infected broiler chickens lead to a significant improvement in FCR especially from the third week of experiment.
Additionally, a significant decrease in liver wt. % and a significant increase in thymus wt. % were observed indicating the positive impact of supplementation in combating the induced coli septicemia. Conclusively, NaB can be safely used as a potent antimicrobial alternative in broiler chickens in EGYPT