Abstract
The objective of this study was to verify the possibility of replacing soybean oil in a diet with glycerol, and investigate the effect of glycerol on performance indicators and health in broiler chickens. The experiment was performed on 122 one-day-old chickens that were divided based on sex into two control groups (30 females and 31 males) and two experimental groups (30 females and 31 males). Half (50%) of the soybean oil in diets used in the experimental groups was replaced with glycerol at a ratio of 1:2. On 15, 32 and 38 day of age chickens of both sexes in the experimental group that were fed with diets containing glycerol showed significantly higher (p ≤ 0.01) mean body weight compared to the control group. At the end of the experiment, the mean weight of chickens in the control group was 2.078 kg, whereas the mean weight of chickens in the experimental group was 2.341 kg. In females, the overall consumption of diets within 38 days of fattening was 3.588 kg in the control group and 4.011 kg in the experimental group, in males, it was 3.915 kg in the control group and 4.366 kg in the experimental group, i.e. it was higher in experimental chickens. Feed conversion in chickens in experimental groups was better, being 1.84 kg in the control group and 1.81 kg in the experimental group in females, and 1.73 kg in the control group and 1.72 kg in the experimental group in males. It follows from our results that the optimum amount of glycerol in feed for poultry is 5%.This study presents an original solution to optimize feed formula by replacing plant oil with glycerol. The results of the study can improve production indicators and economy in broiler fattening.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to verify the possibility of replacing soybean oil in a diet with glycerol, and investigate the effect of glycerol on performance indicators and health in broiler chickens
In experimental diets (G), the content of NNES and NaCl increased whereas the content of total protein decreased, in the diet BR 2 and BR 3; the content of crude fat and starch decreased
The replacement of soybean oil with glycerol resulted in a slight decrease in the contents of most amino acids (AA) which corresponded with the finding of a lower content of total protein in experimental diets
Summary
The objective of this study was to verify the possibility of replacing soybean oil in a diet with glycerol, and investigate the effect of glycerol on performance indicators and health in broiler chickens. The optimum content of glycerol in diets for broiler chickens is in the range of 5-10% (Simon et al 1996; Barteczko and Kaminski 1999; Cerrate et al 2006). When included at this amount, crude glycerol showed a positive effect on performance characteristics, with no negative effect being observed on feed conversion.
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