Influence of separate feeding of calcium on nutrient digestibility, energy utilisation and performance of young broilers fed pelleted wheat-based diets
Introduction
Calcium (Ca) is an essential nutrient for many biochemical pathways, skeletal strength and integrity. Calcium deficiency can lead to skeletal deformation, rickets and tibial dyschondroplasia, bone fracture, neural weakness and poor feather condition in poultry. On the other hand, excessively high concentrations of dietary Ca may impede the availability of nutrients, specifically of other minerals and lipids, by the formation of non-absorbable complexes (Driver et al., 2005, de Matos, 2008, Selle et al., 2009). It has been shown that inclusion of an inorganic Ca source (Tamim and Angel, 2003, Tamim et al., 2004) or increasing dietary Ca concentrations (Plumstead et al., 2007) can impair the inherent ability of broilers to hydrolyse and utilise phytate-phosphorus (PP). Plumstead et al. (2007) reported that increasing the Ca concentration in broiler diets from 4.7 to 7.0, 9.3 and 11.6 g/kg, reduced the ileal digestibility of PP from 20.1 to 15.1, 8.6 and 5.9%, respectively. Precipitation of phytate, which makes the PP unavailable, accounts for this observation (Angel et al., 2002, Tamim and Angel, 2003). The result is a high level of P in poultry excreta, with a major environmental impact, and the need to add expensive inorganic phosphates in the diets. A new form or a delivery system of Ca to the poultry, which will not react with the PP, has been suggested as a potential approach to inhibit formation of Ca–phytate complex (Tamim and Angel, 2003). Another approach, to optimise the hydrolysis and availability of PP in broilers without compromising skeletal integrity usually associated with decreasing dietary Ca levels, might be the separation of major inorganic Ca sources from the diet.
Poultry are reported to have a specific appetite for Ca (Wood-Gush and Kare, 1966, Hughes and Wood-Gush, 1971, Joshua and Mueller, 1979) and can regulate their Ca intake according to their requirements, if they have access to Ca sources separated from the mixed diet (Wilkinson et al., 2013, Wilkinson et al., 2014). Wilkinson et al. (2013) removed a portion of the Ca from a maize-based diet and provided it separately as a supplement to study the effects of separate feeding of Ca on performance and nutrient digestibility of broilers. In this study, birds offered the diet with 2.5 g Ca/kg consumed the highest quantity of the separate source of Ca (CaCO3) compared to those fed the diet with 10.0 g Ca/kg which consumed the least, confirming that contemporary broilers have retained the specific appetite for Ca. Increased weight gain, a better feed efficiency and similar bone mineralisation were achieved when feeding diets with reduced Ca concentration and a separate Ca source.
Whereas several studies have demonstrated Ca preference in Ca-deprived chickens (Wood-Gush and Kare, 1966, Hughes and Wood-Gush, 1971, Joshua and Mueller, 1979), only limited published data are available on the effect of choice feeding of Ca on the utilisation of nutrients and energy in broilers (Wilkinson et al., 2013, Wilkinson et al., 2014), with no study investigating in pelleted diets. The main aim of the present study was to further investigate whether choice feeding of a Ca source influences the performance, nutrient utilisation, and apparent metabolisable energy (AME) in broiler starters fed a pelleted wheat-based diet.
Section snippets
Diets
Whole wheat was obtained from a commercial supplier and ground in a hammer mill (Bisley's Farm Machinery, Auckland, New Zealand) to pass through a screen size of 4.0 mm. Prior to formulating the diets, main ingredients (wheat and soybean meal) and monosodium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate (DCP) and Omyacal (CaCO3 grit, 387 g Ca/kg; Omyacal GL-TK, Omya, Auckland, New Zealand) were analysed for Ca and P contents and the data were used to formulate the experimental diets. Broiler starter diets,
Pellet durability index
Increasing the dietary Ca concentration above 6.0 g/kg resulted in lower PDI compared to 1.1, 2.0 and 4.0 g Ca/kg. The PDI values of 83.7, 82.7, 83.3, 78.5, 79.0 and 70.2 were obtained, respectively, with corresponding Ca concentrations of 1.1, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 g/kg.
Growth performance and Omyacal intake
Mortality during the performance experiment was low. Only seven out of the 288 birds died and the deaths were not related to any specific treatment.
Increasing dietary Ca concentrations resulted in lower (P<0.01; Table 2)
Discussion
The analysed dietary Ca and total P concentrations were in agreement with the expected values across all diets (Table 1). In a study involving Ca, it is important to analyse the major ingredients and Ca sources for Ca and P contents prior to formulating the diets. This will minimise the difference between determined and expected values. Soybean meal has been reported to have a large impact, due to the inclusion of limestone as an anti-caking and flow agent in some batches of soybean meal (Tamim
Conclusions
The present study confirmed the previously reported Ca-specific appetite in modern commercial broilers. The current study also demonstrated that feeding low Ca diets with birds having access to a separate Ca source while maintaining bone mineralisation is advantageous in terms of growth performance. Improved P utilisation and pellet quality, as a result of reducing dietary Ca concentrations, are possible explanations for the improved growth performance of young broilers. When Ca sources are
Conflict of interest statement
There is no conflict of interest.
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