Abstract
ObjectiveAn experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary Ca concentrations in low non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) diets containing phytase on growth performance, bone mineralization, litter quality, and footpad dermatitis (FPD) incidence in growing broiler chickens.MethodsA total of 1,800 21-day-old Ross 308 growing broiler chickens were allotted to 1 of 6 dietary treatments with 6 replicated cages. Six diets were formulated to provide increasing Ca concentrations of 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, or 9.0 g/kg in diets. The concentrations of NPP in all diets were maintained at 3.0 g/kg, and phytase was supplemented to all diets at the level of 1,000 fytase units (FTU)/kg. At the end of the 14-d feeding trial, birds were euthanized for tibia sampling, and litter samples were collected from 3 areas in the cage. The FPD incidence was measured based on a 6-point scoring system.ResultsDietary Ca concentrations had no effect on growth performance of growing broiler chickens. However, a tendency (linear, p = 0.05) for decreased feed efficiency was observed as dietary Ca concentrations were increased. The concentrations of Ca and P in the tibia of broiler chickens increased (linear and quadratic, p<0.01) with increasing Ca concentrations in low NPP diets containing phytase. Litter pH, moisture, and N contents were not affected by increasing Ca concentrations in low NPP diets containing phytase. However, a tendency (quadratic, p = 0.10) for increased FPD incidence with increasing dietary Ca concentrations was observed.ConclusionDietary Ca concentrations from 4.0 to 9.0 g/kg in low NPP diets containing phytase have little effects on growth performance of growing broiler chickens. However, Ca and P concentrations in the tibia are decreased if dietary Ca concentrations are less than 5.0 g/kg. The FPD incidence for growing broiler chickens may be decreased if less than 9.0 g/kg of Ca is included in diets.
Highlights
Calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) are the most important minerals in poultry diets to obtain the optimal productivity
Growth performance including final BW, body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), G:F, and mortality was not affected by dietary treatments (Table 2)
Increasing Ca concentrations in low non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) diets containing phytase had no effects on litter quality including pH, moisture, and N contents (Table 4)
Summary
Calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) are the most important minerals in poultry diets to obtain the optimal productivity. Dietary Ca concentrations are suggested to be adjusted according to dietary NPP concentrations due to potential antagonising effects of Ca on P utilization in the gastrointestinal tract of poultry [3]. This adjustment is likely more important when low NPP diets are fed to broiler chickens [4,5]. The objective of the present experiment, was to investigate the effect of dietary Ca concentrations in low NPP diets containing phytase on growth performance, bone minerali zation, litter quality, and FPD incidence in growing broiler chickens
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