Effect of Dietary Almond Hull on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Organ Weight, Caecum Microbial Counts, and Noxious Gas Emission in Broilers.

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of a diet supplemented with almond hulls on growth performance, nutrient utilization, cecum microbiota, noxious gas emissions, and the organ weight of broilers. A total of 540, one-day-old Ross-308 broilers were used in this 35-day-long feeding trial. All birds were divided into 3 treatment groups of 10 replicates, each with 18 chicks (18 birds/ replication), according to a completely randomized design. The Tukey's test was used to compare the differences among the 3 treatments. The dietary treatments were a basal diet supplemented with 0%, 1%, and 2% almond hull, respectively. The body weight gain (BWG) of broilers supplemented with almond hull improved (p<0.05) during days 1-7 and in the overall period, whereas it tended to increase (p<0.10) during days 22-35. Additionally, feed intake (FI) tended to increase (p<0.10) during days 1-7 and in the overall experiment period. However, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) remained unchanged (p>0.05) through the supplementation of almond hull up to 2%. The nutrient digestibility of nitrogen and energy tended to increase (p<0.10), whereas the digestibility of dry matter was unchanged (p>0.05). Inclusion of almond hull in broiler diets showed a tendency to decrease (p<0.10) caecal Salmonella count. Moreover, broilers fed a diet supplemented with almond hull decreased (p<0.05) their excreted NH 3 emissions. Similar (p>0.05) organ weights were found in broilers with a 2% almond hull-supplemented diet as compared to the control diet. In summary, incorporating up to 2% of almond hulls into broiler diets can enhance growth performance, increase nutrient digestibility, and reduce both microbial count and noxious gas emissions, thereby establishing almond hulls as a promising ingredient for broiler feed.