Evolving Emulsifier Supplementation Strategy for Low Energy Diet in Broiler Chickens.

Background: High performance hybrid broilers require a high energy diet to exploit their full genetic potential. Therefore, high energy sources are being used in broiler diet which creates interest in the use of emulsifiers along with fat source. Hence, this study was conducted to evolve emulsifier supplementation strategy in low energy diet containing tallow as fat source in commercial broiler chickens. Methods: Total of 150 day old broiler chicks randomly distributed into three treatments with 5 replicates of ten chicks each. Treatment groups were fed basal diet which contains tallow as energy source (T1), basal diet supplemented with emulsifier at 250 g per tonne of feed (T2) and 80 kcal Metabolizable energy reduced from basal diet supplemented with emulsifier at the rate of 250 g per ton of feed (T3). Result: At 6th week of age significantly highest body weight was noticed in T2 group, lowest feed intake was recorded in T2 group but feed conversion ratio was comparable between T3 (1.72) and T2 (1.74) groups. No significant difference in carcass parameters and serum biochemical parameters were noticed. Emulsifier supplementation with reduced metabolizable energy can be used as a feeding strategy in broiler chickens to improve the production performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]