Effects of copper, iron, zinc, and manganese supplementation in a corn and soybean meal diet on the growth performance, meat quality, and immune responses of broiler chickens

Abstract

SUMMARY This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of additional supplementation of the diet with Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn on the performance, meat quality, and immune responses of broiler chickens fed a corn- and soybean meal-based diet. In a completely randomized orthogonal experimental design with a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement, 640 one-day-old male broiler chickens were assigned to 16 groups. No significant difference was observed in ADG, ADFI, and FCR among experimental groups for the 21-d starter period, 21-d finisher period, and total. Compared with birds fed the diet supplemented with 80 mg of Mn per kilogram, the birds fed the basal diet had significantly improved FCR during the total period (P < 0.05) according to analysis of the main effects. Supplementing the diet with 20 mg of Cu, 200 mg of Fe, 30 mg of Zn, and 0 mg of Mn significantly increased the L* (lightness) value of breast muscle, and supplementing the diet with 20 mg of Cu, 50 mg of Fe, 120 mg of Zn, and 80 mg of Mn significantly increased the b* (yellowness) value in breast muscle. A diet supplemented with 10 mg of Cu, 100 mg of Fe, 120 mg of Zn, and 0 mg of Mn increased the water-holding capacity of leg muscle. The addition of Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn to diets did not improve the growth performance of broilers, but it could influence the general meat quality by affecting the L* and b* values and the water-holding capacity of breast or leg muscle.