Organ growth and fermentation profiles of broilers differing in body growth rate.

Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0401150 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1525-3171 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00325791 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Poult Sci Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2020- : [Cambridge, UK] : Elsevier
Original Publication: Champaign Il : Poultry Science Association

Chickens*/growth & development ; Chickens*/physiology ; Fermentation*; Animals ; Male ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology ; Organ Size ; Diet/veterinary ; Fatty Acids, Volatile/metabolism ; Intestines/growth & development ; Intestines/anatomy & histology ; Animal Feed/analysis ; Random Allocation

This study sought to determine the relationship among broiler performance, organ development, and indicators of microbiota colonization. A total of 1,200 two-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks, divided among 3 cohorts of equal size, were housed in battery cages, and allotted based on body weight. On study d 11, birds were weighed, and birds with BW gain within the 10th and 90th percentiles were assigned to the Slow and Fast groups, respectively. Birds (n = 30 for each group) selected on d 11 were provided water and a corn-soybean meal-based diet ad libitum while maintained individually through study d 25 (i.e., a 14-d growth period). Parameters regarding growth performance, organ and intestine weights and lengths, and intestinal volatile fatty acid concentrations were measured. All data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA using the Mixed procedure of SAS. Fast birds exhibited greater (P < 0.001) BW gain and feed intake than slow birds, but feed conversion ratio (FCR) did not differ (P = 0.19). Additionally, Slow birds had higher (P < 0.05) relative weights (% of BW) for nearly all organs on d 11 and 25, most notably the gizzard, proventriculus, pancreas, and liver. Conversely, intestinal sections were longer (P < 0.05) in the Fast birds. Measurement of gut histomorphology did not show any notable differences between growth rate groups in terms of villi height, crypt depth, or their ratio for either time-point (P > 0.05). In terms of volatile fatty acid concentrations of luminal contents, acetate concentrations were 10.2% higher (P < 0.001) in the ileum of the Slow birds compared with Fast birds on d 25. Overall, the findings suggest that total BW gain is influenced by the development of metabolically active organs, as supported by lower weight gain in Slow birds with relatively larger organ weights and shorter intestinal lengths than their Fast counterparts. The general lack of differences in fermentation end-product concentrations in luminal contents does not rule out influence of the microbiota on growth rate of broilers, which warrants further investigation.
Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES A. H. Smith is an employee of Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production, Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (Waukesha, WI, USA). No other authors have any conflict of interest to report.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Keywords: body growth rate; broiler; energy metabolism; fermentation profile; organ growth

0 (Fatty Acids, Volatile)

Date Created: 20240322 Date Completed: 20240430 Latest Revision: 20240430

20240430

PMC10973179

10.1016/j.psj.2024.103628

38518667