Abstract
Five hundred and sixty broilers were placed into seven groups. The first negative control (A) was fed the baseline diet (BD); the second positive control (B) was fed BD and exposed to clostridium infection; and the third and fourth groups (C, D) were the same as the positive control with 500 and 1000 g/ton of feed, respectively. The fifth group (E) served as a positive control for the addition of lincomycin, whereas the sixth and seventh groups (F, G) received the same designed diet as the E group but supplemented with HA at 500 and 1000 g/ton of feed, respectively. Birds infected with Clostridium perfringens had considerably decreased body weight. However, a dietary combination of HA and lincomycin resulted in a greater improvement in growth. Body weight increased after 35 days, but feed intake dropped, therefore HA and lincomycin supplementation enhanced feed conversion ratio. Supplementing with HA and lincomycin increased crude protein retention. Furthermore, these additions mitigated the detrimental effects of clostridial infection on the gut by reducing degenerative changes in intestinal villi and increasing villi length, particularly at higher HA/lincomycin doses. In conclusion, nutritional supplementation with humic acid and lincomycin improved blood biochemistry, and gut morphology in broilers infected with Clostridium difficile.