Performance of broiler chickens supplemented with Bacillus coagulans as probiotic

1. A newly isolated Bacillus coagulans strain as probiotic was assayed as the only dietary additive for chickens. 2. Chickens receiving no additive at all or only virginiamycin were used for comparison. 3. Two trials each carried out on 75 chickens showed that, in terms of efficacy in growth and food conversion ratio, the B. coagulans biomass as a probiotic had a growth-promoting, prophylactic effect comparable to that of virginiamycin.