Corn distillers' dried grains with solubles to feed broiler chickens from 22 to 42 D of age

Abstract

Summary Distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is an alternative ingredient in poultry diets. However, DDGS has high concentrations of non-starch polysaccharides, which limits its inclusion in broiler diets. The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of inclusion level of DDGS in broiler diets from 22 to 42 D of age. A total of 980 22-day-old broilers with an average BW of 923 ± 4 g were distributed in a completely randomized design, with 7 increasing levels of DDGS (0, 10, 40, 70, 100, 130, and 160 g kg−1), with 7 replicate pen per treatment and 20 broilers per pen. The performance parameters evaluated included BWG, feed intake, and FCR. At 42 D of age, 2 broilers per pen were selected to determine blood parameters and then euthanized to evaluate gastrointestinal tract development, carcass yield, and meat quality. The results demonstrated that up to 160 g kg−1 DDGS can be included in broiler diets from 22 to 42 D of age without negative effect on performance, carcass and cut yields, meat quality, and litter characteristics.