Effects of a natural extract of chestnut wood on digestibility, performance traits, and nitrogen balance of broiler chicks.

Currently, feed ingredients containing tannin are attracting more interest as substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters in animal and poultry feeding. This study investigated the influence of a natural extract of chestnut wood (Silvafeed ENC) on broiler digestibility (experiment 1) and on the growth performance, carcass quality, and nitrogen balance of broilers (experiment 2). Results showed that the inclusion of ENC did not influence the apparent digestibility of organic matter, CP, and ether extract.