Carnitine Supplemented Diet to Prevent or Alleviate Ascites in Broiler Type Poultry

Abstract

An effective amount of carnitine is administered to broiler type poultry to prevent or alleviate ascites. In the preferred embodiment, a carnitine supplemented diet is fed to broiler type chickens in a feed composition during the phase of rapid tissue accretion where a high oxygen requirement stresses the birds' cardiovascular support system. The feed composition preferably contains between 5 and 1000 ppm of carnitine.