Impact of Dietary Corn Fiber on Growth Performance, Digestive Organs, Intestinal Morphology, and Nutrient Digestibility in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Adding moderate levels of insoluble dietary fiber is a promising and economical method for enhancing broiler chickens' health status and performance. The current research aimed to determine the effect of corn bran (CB) as an insoluble fiber on performance parameters, digestive organs, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens. A total of 240 one-day-old Ross broilers were randomly divided into four treatments: a control (without CB inclusion) and three treatments with CB at 25, 50, and 75 g/kg. Dietary inclusion of 50 and 75 g/kg of CB significantly decreased daily feed intake and weight gain during the entire rearing period. However, the feed conversion ratio was not affected by the experimental treatments. Carcass yields significantly increased in birds fed control and 25 g/kg CB diets compared to those fed on 50 and 75 g/kg of CB. On the other hand, feeding 50 and 75 g/kg of CB caused a significant increase in the gastrointestinal tract and gizzard relative weights compared to the control. The groups fed 50 and 75 g/kg CB-containing diets had the heaviest ileal and cecal weights relative to the control group. The shortest compartments of the small intestine were observed in the group fed the control diet compared to the CB inclusion treatments (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in intestinal morphology and nutrient digestibility among treatments. In conclusion, supplementing CB as an insoluble fiber at 25 g/kg improved the health status of broiler chickens without impairing growth performance.

Keywords

• broiler
• corn bran
• gut function
• inclusion level
• digestive organ
• growth performance