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The effects of feed form and the inclusion of insoluble fiber in the diet on growth performance and water intake were studied in female broilers from 0 to 21 d of age. The experimental design was completely randomized with 14 treatments arranged as a 2 × 7 factorial with 2 feed forms (mash vs. pelleted) and 7 diets that consisted of a control diet low in fiber (1.6% crude fiber) based on broken rice, fermented soybean meal, and fish meal and 6 extra diets that resulted from the inclusion of 3 insoluble fiber sources (oat hulls; OH, rice hulls; RH, and sunflower hulls; SFH) at 2 levels (2.5 vs. 5%). Each treatment was replicated 6 times. Broilers fed pellets had 32% greater ADG and 3% better feed to gain ratio (F:G) than those fed mash (P ≤ 0.001). The inclusion of the fiber sources improved ADG (P ≤ 0.05) and F:G (P ≤ 0.05). Pelleting increased (P ≤ 0.001) water intake from 6 to 8 d, water-to-feed intake ratio from 18 to 20 d, and moisture content of the excreta at 20 d of age. The inclusion of the insoluble fiber sources increased water intake (P ≤ 0.05) from d 18 to 20 but not from d 6 to 8. Increasing the level of fiber inclusion from 2.5 to 5.0% tended to increase (P = 0.086) moisture content in the excreta at d 20. Pelleting and the inclusion of insoluble fiber sources improved ADG and F:G in broilers fed low-fiber diets, and the improvements observed were more pronounced with pellets than with mash. Growth performance of young broilers improves with the addition of moderate amounts of structural insoluble fiber in the diet, regardless of feed form. The inclusion of OH or SFH into low fiber diets was more beneficial for improving broiler performance than the inclusion of RH.

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The coefficient of apparent ileal digestibility (CAID) of DM, gross energy (GE), N, and amino acids (AA) of 6 soybean meal (SBM) samples were compared in 21-d-old broilers. In addition, the digestibility of DM and N of diets that contained these SBM were tested in vitro. Four of the SBM were of South American origin, had a CP content varying from 45.2 to 47.2% and a trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) varying from 4.1 to 6.5 mg/g, and were collected from local traders. The other 2 SBM were from US origin; one was a branded product with 48.6% CP and 1.8 mg of TIA/g and the other was obtained from soybeans of US origin that were dehulled and processed in Spain (50.6% CP and 2.4 mg of TIA/g). The experimental design was completely randomized with 6 diets and 6 replicates per treatment. Chicks were fed a commercial diet from 1 to 16 d of age and then their respective experimental diets for 5 d. The diets were based on sucrose and corn starch, with the SBM tested as the only source of protein. At 21 d of age, digesta was collected from the distal ileum and the CAID of nutrients was determined using celite as an indigestible marker. Diets that included the 2 SBM with the greatest CP content had greater CAID of DM (P