The most recent research cited by the NRC Nutrition Requirements of Poultry to establish choline recommendations was published in 1987, so choline guidelines for modern broilers are outdated and may be insufficient to optimize growth. The objective was to determine the effect of additional dietary choline chloride supplementation on growth performance and carcass characteristics of modern broilers reared for 66 days. As-hatched Ross 708 × Yield Plus broiler chicks (n = 2160; 30 birds per pen) were randomly allotted to one of six experimental corn and soybean meal-based diets formulated to contain an additional 0, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, or 2000 mg of choline chloride above the choline content of the basal diet ingredients. Diets were fed in four phases, and birds were processed at day 66 of age. Growth performance and breast myopathy incidence was not impacted by added choline. While there were differences in breast, wing, thigh, and drum yields, the effects of added choline were not linear. Supplemental choline chloride was not beneficial for growth performance but did impact the carcass characteristics of modern, large frame broilers reared for 66 days.

Research on the impact of supplementing additional dietary choline to modern, large-frame broiler chickens is limited, and current choline recommendations are outdated. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of additional dietary choline chloride supplementation on growth performance and carcass characteristics of modern broilers reared to 32 days of age. Corn and soybean meal-based diets were formulated to contain an additional 0, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, or 2000 mg of choline chloride per kg of feed above the choline present in the basal diet ingredients. As-hatched Ross 708 × Yield Plus broiler chicks (n = 2160; 30 birds per pen; 44 ± 0.2 g initial BW) were randomly allotted to the experimental diets, reared for 31 days, and processed at day 32. Growth performance, carcass yield, and breast myopathy incidence were not impacted by supplemental choline. However, abdominal fat pad weight tended to diminish with increasing dietary choline, and drumstick yield was reduced in birds fed over 800 mg per kg of feed. These results indicate feeding additional choline does not impact growth performance but may result in changes in carcass characteristics of modern, high-yielding broilers reared for 32 days.

Choline has been demonstrated to partially substitute methionine in broiler chicken diets due to their interconnected biosynthesis pathways. Yet, research on the impacts of dietary choline supplementation on modern strains of high-yielding broilers is limited. The objective was to evaluate the effect of increasing additions of choline chloride on the performance and carcass characteristics of broilers fed reduced methionine diets and reared under summer environmental conditions. Ross 708 x Yield Plus male broilers were reared for 41 days on used litter in floor pens (n = 2232; 31 birds per pen). Birds were fed one of six corn and soybean meal-based, reduced methionine diets containing 0, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, or 2000 mg of added choline chloride per kg of feed. Diets were provided in three phases. On day 43, 10 birds per pen were processed. Increasing dietary choline resulted in similar body weight gain, reduced feed intake, and improved feed efficiency. Choline chloride supplementation linearly increased both breast and carcass yields while concomitantly increasing the incidence and severity of wooden-breast-affected fillets. These results indicate that supplementing reduced-methionine broiler diets with choline chloride during high environmental temperatures may improve feed efficiency and increase carcass and breast yields but may also increase wooden breast.