The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of NutrafitoPlus on performance and carcass characteristics of broilers fed antibiotic-free (ABF) programs with different prebiotic/direct-fed microbial (DFM) combinations. In addition, ammonia emissions were measured to determine the effect of NutrafitoPlus on sequestering ammonia. 1,728 one-day-old straight-run broiler chicks were separated into 48 pens with 36 birds/pen. There were 4 different dietary treatments with 12 replicate pens. The treatments differed in the inclusion or exclusion of NutrafitoPlus, and the inclusion or exclusion of prebiotic/DFM and/or NutrafitoPlus in the finisher. No significant differences in body weight, feed consumption, or feed conversion occurred between treatments. The averages for body weight and feed conversion were 2.768 kg at 42 days and 1.757 kg feed/kg body weight gained, respectively. Early mortality was higher than expected at 4.630 percent during the first 18 days; however no significant differences in mortality were detected among treatment groups. No differences in carcass weights or yield were found for the treatments. There was no significant difference in ammonia emissions between treatments. The addition of NutrafitoPlus as a feed additive to these ABF programs was ineffective in significantly improving performance, improving carcass characteristics, or decreasing ammonia emissions.
