Abstract
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of age and supplemental xylanase in corn- or wheat-based diets on cecal volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations of Ross × Ross 708 male broilers during weekly intervals from 14 to 42d of age. Day-old chicks (1,500) were randomly distributed into 60 floor pens (25 chicks/pen; 0.078 m2/bird) and fed 1 of 4 dietary treatments (TRT) throughout the starter (1 to 14d of age), grower (15 to 28d of age), and finisher (29 to 42d of age) phases with 15 replicates per TRT. Dietary TRT consisted of a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with 2 diet types (corn- or wheat-based) and 2 xylanase inclusions (0 or 16,000 BXU/kg) as the main factors. At 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42d of age, cecal contents were collected (4 birds/pen) for VFA analysis. Main effects of cereal grain source (P < 0.05) affected propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, valeric, and isocaproic acid concentrations at 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42d of age. Broilers fed corn-based diets had higher (P < 0.05) propionic, isobutyric, isovaleric, valeric, and isocaproic concentrations than those fed wheat-based diets from 14 to 42d of age. However, broilers fed wheat-based diets had higher (P < 0.05) butyric acid concentrations at 28, 35, and 42d of age compared with those fed corn-based diets. Individual and total VFA concentrations increased (P < 0.05) linearly from 14 to 42d of age. Age and cereal grain interacted (P < 0.05) to affect propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acid concentrations. These results indicate that broiler cecal VFA concentrations are influenced by cereal grain source and age. In contrast, supplemental xylanase inconsistently influenced broiler cecal VFA concentrations. Therefore, future research evaluating factors affecting supplemental xylanase and cecal VFA production in broilers is warranted. Additionally, research investigating cereal grain source effects on cecal microflora development and fermentative patterns may be beneficial for optimizing cecal VFA production in broilers.
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