Abstract
Five-day-old broiler chicks of both sexes were fed the conventional diets containing 0, 1, 2, or 3% propionic acid (PA) and water ad libitum until 54 days of age, then the tarsometatarsal bone (TMT) was removed after the feeding experiment. The size, fracture and crash strength, crude ash and calcium contents of TMT were measured.1. In male chicks, no effects of dietary PA on the size of TMT were obtained but the dry weight/fresh weight of TMT was increased. In females, the diameter, dry weight and dry weight/fresh weight of TMT were increased.2. In both sexes, the elasticity, and fracture and crash strength of TMT were significantly improved by the dietary PA, in which 3% PA-fed birds showed the highest improvement in TMT strength.3. Crude ash and calcium contents of TMT also showed a positive correlation with increasing dietary PA level in both sexes.These results suggest that the dietary PA in broilers increased the breaking strength of the bone due to the elevated calcium content in the bone by activated absorption of mineral such as calcium.
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