Effects of calcium soaps of animal fats on performance, abdominal fat fatty acid composition, bone biomechanical properties, and tibia mineral concentration of broilers

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of a graded concentration of dietary calcium soaps of tallow (CST) supplementation on broiler performance, carcass characteristics, abdominal fat fatty acid profile, bone biomechanical properties, and bone mineral composition. One hundred and forty 11-d-old male broiler chickens were randomly allocated to 4 experimental groups with 5 replicate pens containing 7 birds per each. The birds received corn-soybean meal based diet and CST (CST0, CST10, CST20, and CST30, respectively) was included in the grower (0, 10, 20, and 30 g/kg) and finisher (0, 15, 30, and 45 g/kg) diet at the expense of vegetable acid oil and limestone. Dietary supplementations had no significant effect on BWG and FI during the entire experimental period. However, FCR was improved in CST0 and CST10 groups in comparison to those of the CST20 group from d 11 to d 42. According to the present study result, dietary supplementation of low level of CST significantly influenced intestinal microarchitecture of the jejunum and ileum by improving villus height/crypt ratio and villus height, respectively. Femur (P=0.001) and tibia (P=0.020) stiffness increased linearly with the increasing level of dietary CST. Tibia Ca (P=0.009) and P (P=0.009) concentration of CST10 and CST30 groups were lower than the CST0 group. Increasing levels of CST in diets significantly reduced the Fe and Mn concentrations in tibia samples. In conclusion, supplementation of CST has no detrimental effect on broiler performance parameters and might be used as an alternative dietary fat source in the broiler industry.

Keywords

• acid oil
• broiler
• calcium soap
• fat
• fatty acid composition
• tallow