Abstract
Following a substantial increase in poultry breeding, the demand for their meat has risen. Poultry meat is one of the primary sources of protein in human nutrition, which contributes to food security. However, implementing intensive breeding programs and exposing birds to multiple stressors have led to the overuse of antibiotics and worse poultry health. This study was carried out at the poultry farm of the Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, University of Anbar, Ramadi, Iraq from 28/10/2021 to 8/12/2021 (42 days), to show the effect of the addition of Cordyceps sinensis extract and a probiotic to the diet of broilers on their productive performance. For this purpose, 210 one-day-old unsexed chicks of strain (Ross 308) were used with an average weight of 40 g. They were randomly divided into seven groups of treatments, and each treatment had three replicates (10 chicks per replicate). The treatments included T1, which was the control group without any addition to the diet, T2 and T3 with the addition of C. sinensis extract at a level of 300 and 600 mg/kg feed, respectively, T4 and T5 with the addition of a probiotic at the level of 3 and 6 g/kg feed, respectively, T6 with the addition of C. sinensis extract at a level of 300 mg/kg feed + the probiotic at a level of 3 g/kg feed, T7 with the addition of C. sinensis extract at a level of 600 mg/kg feed + the probiotic at a level of 3 g/kg fodder and 6 g/kg feed. The results showed a significant superiority (P≤0.05) in favor of the T6 and T7 treatments, which included the mixture of C. sinensis extract and the probiotic, in terms of the average body weight at the sixth week, over the rest of the treatments except for the T3 treatment which included the addition of C. sinensis extract at a level of 600 mg/kg feed. Regarding weight increase, the T3 treatment, which included the addition of . sinensis extract at a level of 600 mg/kg feed, was significantly superior (P≤0.05) to the T4 treatment, which included the addition of the booster at a level of 3 g/kg feed. Regarding the feed consumption rate, it was observed that all the added treatments significantly decreased it (P≤0.05), compared to the control T1 and the cumulative feed conversion factor (0-6 weeks). It was noticed that the treatments of the mixture T6 and T7 led to a significant (P≤0.05) improvement, compared to the other experimental treatments. It is concluded from this that the addition that C. sinensis extract and the probiotic improved the productive performance of broilers without any adverse effects.