ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of calcium (Ca) and phytase interaction on growth performance and bone quality in 1-42-day-old broiler chickens. A total of 624 female one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were allotted to 13 treatments with four replicates and 12 birds per replicate. A 2 × 6 factorial experiment was designed to test the combinations of 0.50% and 1.00% Ca with 0, 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, and 10,000 FTU/kg phytase in the basal diet (0.25% non-phytate phosphorus, NPP). The control diet contained adequate Ca and phosphorus (P). Dietary Ca, phytase, and their interaction affected growth performance and bone mineralization of broilers at 1-42 days of age (p<0.05). The broilers fed with 1.00% Ca had lower body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI) compared with the birds fed with 0.50% Ca (p<0.05). The BWG, FI, leg bone weight, and ash weight of the broilers fed with 0.25% NPP were lower than those of birds fed with the control diet (p<0.05). The addition of 500-10,000 FTU/kg phytase improved growth rate and leg bone quality, especially at 1.00% Ca (p<0.05). No differences were observed in growth performance and bone quality of 42-day-old broilers fed with 1.00% Ca + 2,500-10,000 FTU/kg phytase and the control diet (p>0.05). These data indicated that high doses of phytase (2,500-10,000 FTU/kg) alleviate the negative effects of Ca and P imbalance (Ca-to-NPP ratio = 4.0) on growth performance and bone mineralization of broiler chickens.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate the optimal zinc (Zn) requirement of broiler chickens based on Zn retention. On the day of hatch, 350 male Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned to seven treatments with five replicates of ten birds each. Zinc was supplemented as ZnSO4·7H2O at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, or 120 mg/kg in the starter diet (fed from 1 to 21 d of age) and at 0, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, or 96 mg/kg in the grower diet (fed from 22 to 42 d of age). The analyzed Zn levels were 34.98 and 27.57 mg/kg in the basal starter and grower diets, respectively. Supplemental Zn levels did not influence body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, or liver Zn content of broilers at 21 and 42 d of age (p>0.05). Tibia ash Zn content of 21-d-old broilers increased when Zn supplementation level increased from 0 to 40 mg/kg Zn in (p<0.05). The highest breast muscle Zn content in 42-d-old broilers was observed when 100 and 80 mg Zn/kg was supplemented in the starter and grower diets, respectively. Fecal Zn content, Zn intake, Zn excretion, and Zn retention of 31- to 33-d-old broilers linearly increased with supplemental Zn levels (p<0.05). Zinc retention values, calculated as the difference between Zn intake and Zn excretion, were negative, about zero, and positive when starter/grower diets were supplemented with 0/0 and 20/16, 40/32, and 60/48 and 120/96 mg/kg, respectively. These results indicate that supplementing 40 and 32 mg Zn/kg in starter and grower diets, respectively, promote the growth performance of broiler chickens, while reduce Zn excretion in the environment.

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of dietary non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) and 1a-hydroxycholecalciferol (1a-OH-D3) on the growth performance, bone mineralization, and carcass traits of 1- to 21-day-old broiler chickens. On the day of hatch, 600 male Ross 308 chicks were weighed and randomly assigned to 12 treatments, with five cages of 10 birds each. A 6 × 2 factorial arrangement was applied, consisting of 0.20%, 0.25%, 0.30%, 0.35%, 0.40%, or 0.45% NPP and 0 or 5 μg/kg of 1a-OH-D3. The basal diet contained 0.52% calcium (Ca) and was not supplemented with vitamin D3. Dietary NPP levels significantly affected growth performance and tibia mineralization (except width) of broilers; by contrast, meat yield and organ relative weight were not influenced by NPP. The inclusion of 1a-OH-D3 improved growth performance, tibia mineralization, and carcass and breast yield, whereas it decreased the relative weights of the liver, heart, and kidney. A significant interaction between NPP and 1a-OH-D3 was observed for body weight gain (BWG), feed efficiency (FE), mortality, serum Ca and P levels, tibia breaking-strength, ash weight, and Ca content, as well as breast yield and heart relative weight. These results suggest that broilers fed with 5 μg of 1a-OH-D3 per kg of diet obtain optimal growth performance and tibia mineralization when dietary NPP level was 0.30% and the analyzed Ca to NPP ratio was 1.97.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed at comparing the growth and mineralization of the femur, tibia, and metatarsus of male and female broiler chicks. On the day of hatch, 100 male and 100 female Ross 308 broiler chicks were transferred stainless cages with 10 birds per cage. On d 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42, five males and five females were sacrificed and their femur, tibia, and metatarsus were collected. Results showed that the tibia was the heaviest and the longest and contained the highest content of ash and calcium (Ca) among the three leg bones. The femur had the greatest diameter. The weight, length, diameter, and ash weight of the femur, tibia, and metatarsus linearly increased with age. The ash, Ca, and phosphorus (P) content in the femur and the tibia quadratically increased with age; by contrast, these parameters in the metatarsus linearly increased with age. The bones grew faster in 1 to 21 d of age. The weight, diameter, and ash weight of the three bones of males were higher than those of females. The Ca to P ratio of the three bones (femur, tibia, and metatarsus) was approximately 2.0:1. These data indicate that there are differences in bone growth and mineralization among the femur, tibia, and metatarsus of male or female broiler chicks.