Comparative Effect of Zinc Concentration and Sources on Growth Performance, Accumulation in Tissues, Tibia Status, Mineral Excretion and Immunity of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding different concentrations and sources of zinc (Zn) on the growth performance, tissue mineral status, bone morphology and immunity responses in 0-4-week broiler chickens. Four hundred and forty 1-d-old broiler chickens were assigned randomly to 11 dietary treatments with 4 cages per treatment and 10 broiler chickens per cage in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments were: corn-soybean meal basal diet (negative control), basal diet supplemented with 5 g yeast/kg (yeast), and basal diet supplemented with 20, 50, or 80 mg of added Zn/kg as ZnSO4, Zn-Met, or Zn-yeast in a 3 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. The results showed that broilers fed Zn supplemented diets had greater average weight gain and average feed intake than chickens fed the negative control diet (p<0.05). The Zn deposition in tibia, meat (thigh and breast) and excreta increased (p<0.01), regardless of source, in response to increasing dietary Zn concentrations. Zinc level increased dry weight of tibia bone and its large diameter. The strength of tibia bone as judged by Seedor index and breaking strength was improved (p<0.01) with Zn concentration in increased diets. Furthermore, supplemental Zn up to 50 mg/kg improved immunity responses of broiler chickens (p<0.01). It is concluded that supplementation with 50 mg Zn may be sufficient for normal broiler growth up to 28 d of age and the dietary inclusion of organic Zn could be utilized more effectively when compared to inorganic sources.

Effect of Zinc Supplementation in the Diet on Sikumbang Janti Female Duck Performance, Carcass, Digestive Organs, and Intestinal Morphology

“…Zn is an essential element of digestive enzymes and other enzymes such as hydrolases, oxidoreductases, transferases, lyases, ligases, and isomerases (Park et al 2004). Therefore, Zn in feed aids in the digestion and metabolic processes of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates into substrates that are easily absorbed in the intestine and stored in the tissue (Azad et al 2020). According to Azad et al (2020), the addition of 50 mg Zn to the broiler's diet is sufficient for proper growth up to 28 days of age.…”

“…Therefore, Zn in feed aids in the digestion and metabolic processes of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates into substrates that are easily absorbed in the intestine and stored in the tissue (Azad et al 2020). According to Azad et al (2020), the addition of 50 mg Zn to the broiler's diet is sufficient for proper growth up to 28 days of age. Similarly, adding zinc to poultry feed increases their ability to produce antibodies.…”

Antibacterial Potential of Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles against Poultry-Associated Foodborne Pathogens: An In Vitro Study

“…Thus, Zn supplementation in the form of inorganic Zn has been widely used. However, the major drawbacks of using inorganic Zn is its poor bioavailability and utilization rate [7], causing the feed manufacturers to apply a greater amount of dietary Zn (100 to 120 mg/kg feed) to achieve the maximum performance of poultry, which is above the recommended standard (40 mg/kg) by the National Research Council (NRC, 1994) [8]. Nonetheless, the extensive use of high-dose dietary zinc oxide (ZnO) may affect the stability of other trace elements [9,10] and lead to excess Zn in excreta, causing environmental contamination.…”