Productivity of broiler chicken fed plant-sourced diet supplemented with a novel protein ingredient (Pro-El)

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the growth performance of broilers fed diet supplemented with different levels of high protein (Pro-EL) as a novel stuff from day 1 to 35 days. Day-old male broiler chicks (n=480; Cobb 500) were randomly distributed into four dietary treatments [D1, D2, D3 and D4], each diet replicated six times with twenty birds per replicate. Treatment D1 refers to control or basal diet with no Pro-EL, while D2, D3 and D4 dietary treatments were supplemented with 1%, 2% and 3% Pro-EL stuff, respectively. Birds were reared in the floor pen with a mechanically—ventilated closed housing condition up to 35 days. Birds had free access to iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous starter diet up to 21d and then finisher diets were fed to the birds up to 35 days. The results demonstrated that the feed intake (FI) and live weight (LW) of broilers were influenced significantly (P<0.05; P<0.001) by dietary treatment, except for feed conversion ratio (FCR) and mortality (%) up to 35 days. Dietary treatment had no significant effect (P>0.05) on the FCR and mortality of birds up to 35 days. Birds fed on Ds diet had a significantly poorer (P<0.01) FI and LW than the birds fed the other diets entire the trial period. Birds fed on D1, D2 and D3 diets had a similar (P>0.05) FI and LW up to 35 days. In conclusion, growth responses of broilers fed on 1% and 2 % Pro-EL supplemented diets (D2 and Ds) might show a satisfactory performance similar to D1 diet, but the growth might be suppressed as a result of increased level of high protein supplementation in the broiler diet.