Inclusion effect of dietary fat and dietary fibre on growth performance and digesta mean retention time of young broilers fed on wheat/corn diets

Abstract

Nutrient digestion and absorptions in animals are greatly influenced by the passage rate of digesta and the digesta passage rate or retention/residence time could be affected by the type of feed given. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the inclusion effect of dietary fat and fibre on digesta passage rate in broiler chickens. The hypothesis posited that the mean retention/residence time (MRT) of digesta would be elevated with higher levels of fat, whereas the addition of dietary fibre would have no effect on MRT. The study was designed as a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, with two levels of dietary fat (low fat at 10 g/kg diet and high fat at 50 g/kg diet) and two levels of dietary fibre (0 g/kg diet and 40 g/kg diet). The meals were provided in mash form. The results of the present investigation indicated that dietary fat did not lead to a substantial increase in the total MRT of digesta in broilers, which contradicts the hypothesis of this study. However, the incorporation of a high level of fat has been found to increase body weight gain (BWG), improve feed conversion ratio (FCR) and reduce feed intake (FI). This effect has the potential to result in a more economically efficient production system, as it increases the amount of meat produced per kilogram of feed consumed. Further investigations on increasing digesta MRT are recommended in order to optimize the sustainable utilization of feed ingredients in broiler diets, particularly non-conventional feedstuffs, which involve in the application of feed enzymes such as enzymes that degrade fibre, phytate and other antinutrients present in feed.