EFFICIENCY OF FEED ADDITIVE NIKAMAX® FOR NATURAL INFECTION OF BROILER CHICKENS WITH EIMERIA SPP.

Abstract

The article presents the results of the study of the effectiveness of the combined feed additive NIKAMAX® (powder for oral use), produced by JSC Biopharm (Ukraine), the active pharmaceutical ingredients of which are the polyester ionophore antibiotic maduramycin and the synthetic compound nicarbazine, in the treatment of coccidiosis in broilers naturally infected with coccidia genus Eimeria (E. tenella, E. maxima and E. acervulina). The main criteria for demonstrating the effectiveness of the feed additive NIKAMAX® were: the number of Eimeria oocysts in feces; assessment of intestinal damage; poultry mortality and morbidity associated with coccidiosis. Additional indicators of the effectiveness of the feed supplement were: average live weight; average daily increase in live weight of poultry; average daily feed consumption, the ratio of the amount of feed consumed to growth; data of bird health monitoring during the experiment. The results of the study showed that the feed additive NIKAMAX® when added to feed at a dose of 0.5 g per 1 kg of feed, or 3.75 mg of maduramycin ammonium and 40 g of nicarbazin per 1 kg of feed, causes a decrease in the degree of infestation of broilers with coccidiosis, reduces damage of the intestine of a sick poultry, reduces its mortality and morbidity associated with coccidiosis. The combination of nicarbazine and maduramycin, what are the active ingredients of the feed additive NIKAMAX®, contributed to an increase in the growth of broiler chickens and a decrease in the feed conversion ratio in the group of birds to which the additive was added to the compound feed, compared to the infected birds to which it was not administered. A general assessment of the main and additional efficiency indicators obtained in the study of natural infection of broiler chickens with Eimeria spp. shows that the feed additive NIKAMAX® is an effective coccidiostatic means of prevention and treatment of eimeriosis in broiler chickens.