Low levels of protected ascorbic acid improve broiler chicken performance after long fasting on housing

Abstract

Ascorbic acid is involved in many essential functions in broiler chickens. Vitamin C has been used as a supplement in broiler chicken diets with the objective of improving performance characteristics, especially under stressful situations. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of low levels of ascorbic acid supplementation on performance, the relative weight of organs and the mitochondrial metabolism of liver cells in broiler chickens after a delay in housing conditions. Eight hundred thirty-two one-day-old male Cobb 500 chicks were used in a randomised study with 4 treatments (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg of encapsulated ascorbic acid dietary supplementation during the prestarter stage of development) with 8 replicates. Feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BW gain), feed conversion ratio (FCR), viability, liver O2 respiration and the mass and relative weights of organs were measured. Our results demonstrated that dietary supplementation with ascorbic acid had a beneficial effect on characteristics such as BW gain and FCR in the initial phase. These data indicate that the use of polyethoxylated ascorbic acid in the diets of broiler chickens during the prestarter stage can improve their performance when there is a delay in housing the animals.