INDIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, cilt.81, sa.4, ss.411-415, 2004 (SCI-Expanded)
Zeolites are crystalline alumino-silicates with fully cross-linked open framework structures made up of corner-sharing SiO4 and AlO4 tetrahedral (Karapinar, 1998). It has been reported (Hatieganu et al., 1979) that the addition of zeolites to broiler feeds at the rates of 5 to 9% improved growth rate by 9 to 12% and feed conversion rate (FCR) by 12%. Dietary zeolite supplementation has also been reported (Edwards, 1988) to cause a reduction in the incidence and score of tibial dyschondroplasia (TD), which is a developmental disorder in broiler chickens, characterized by the formation of a lesion composed of noncalcified - nonvascularized cartilage, that can extend from the epiphyseal growth plate into the metaphysis (Cook, 2000).