The use of glauconite as a feed additive in broiler nutrition and its effect on growth performance, intestinal histomorphology and biomechanical properties of bones

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using glauconite as a feed additive in broiler nutrition and its effect on fattening performance, intestinal histomorphology and biomechanical properties of bones in broilers. A total of 288 one-day-old male chicks were included in the study and they were randomly divided into 3 groups and these groups were divided into 8 subgroups. The trial continued for 35 days. The control group (C) was fed with basal ration while experimental groups were fed respectively with 1% glauconite (G1) and 2% glauconite (G2) added to the basal ration. The results showed that the use of different doses of glauconite in the rations did not statistically affect fattening performance. On the 21st and 35th day of the experiment, when histomorphology of ileum was examined, it was observed that villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and VH/CD ratio were not affected by glauconite addition. When histomorphology examination of jejeum was performed on the 35th day of the experiment, it was seen that the villus height was statistically affected. The effect of glauconite on biomechanical properties of femur and tibia bones was not statistically significant. As a result, the addition of glauconite in broiler rations did not affect the performance parameters, biomechanical properties of bones and histomorphology of the ileum, but adversely affected jejunum histomorphology.

Keywords

• glauconite
• broiler
• intestinal histomorphology
• performance
• biomechanical properties of bones