Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Sodium Bicarbonate on Digestibility of Nutrients and Immune Response in Caged Layers During the Summer

ABSTRACT The aim of this project was to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on nutrient digestibility and immune response of caged layers during summer when the temperature exceeds 40 ˚C. For immune response trial, White Leghorn layers (n=160; 24 weeks old) were purchased from a poultry farm and were divided into five treatment/diets groups (4 replicate/treatment). Diet A, was without NaHCO3 and served as control whereas, diets B, C, D, and E contained 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% NaHCO3, respectively. All these birds were vaccinated against Newcastle disease ...