The Effect of Replacing Spirulina Algae Powder (Arthrospira ‎platensis) with Vitamin-Mineral Premixes on the Growth, ‎Performance and Blood Parameters of Broiler Chickens

Today, Spirulina micro-algae is cultivated in many countries as a rich source of protein, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In this study, the effect of replacing spirulina microalgae powder with different amounts of industrial vitamin-mineral premix was compared as an additive to stimulate the growth performance of broiler chickens. 200 one-day-old broiler chickens were randomly selected among 3000 chickens and divided into five treatments at Mehrgan Jihad Agricultural Research Center in Kermanshah province The diet of the first group, which was considered as a control treatment, includes (100% industrial supplement and no spirulina), the first treatment T1(25% spirulina and 75% industrial supplement), the second treatment T2 (50% spirulina and 50% industrial supplement), The third treatment T3 (75% spirulina and 25% industrial supplement) and the fourth treatment T4 (100% spirulina) were used. After 42 days, there was no mortality in the treatments, in the T1, T2 and T4 treatments, live weight significantly (P<0.05) increased compared to the control group, and the amount of feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the T2 treatment  decreased significantly. Therefore, T2 showed the best performance Then the biochemical parameters of blood serum in T2 were checked, which showed a significant (P<0.05) increase in glucose, total protein and albumin, HDL and LDL and a decrease in triglyceride and cholestrol levels. Based on findings, it is concluded that by replacing 50% of the industrial vitamin-mineral supplement with spirulina powder, the growth performance, feed conversion ratio and blood parameters in broilers can be improved.