Impacts of mannanase supplementation in guar meal by-product on broiler chickens performance, foot pad health and selected organ traits: a pilot study

Abstract

Abstract High β-mannan content in the broiler diet could have adverse effects on performance and health. This study aimed to evaluate the possible effects of including a guar gum (GG) containing a high β-mannan content with the addition of β-mannanase in broiler diets on performance, pododermatitis and selected carcass traits. A total of 144 broilers were randomly allotted to three treatments from d 7–33. The control group (CON) received a pelleted diet without β-mannanase addition, whereas the second group (GG/-) was offered a diet with 1.30% of GG. The third group was fed a diet containing 1.30% GG (47.9% of β-mannan on a fresh basis) and with the recommended dose of β-mannanase (GG/+). Significant differences in body weight at d 33 were noted only between the CON and GG/- groups (2113 and 1854 g; p=0.0002). A significant difference of dry matter content in the litter-excrement mixture was observed at d 21 and 28 for the CON and GG/- groups ( p=0.0349 and p=0.0348, respectively). Birds fed the GG/- diet had significantly the highest pododermatitis scores (1.04) compared to the GG/+ group (0.76) at d 33 ( p=0.0355). Overall, supplementing the β-mannan-enriched diets with β-mannanase improved growth performance and contributed positively to reduce the severity of pododermatitis.