Growth performance and meat quality from broiler chickens reared with zeolite and halloysite in feed and straw pellet

• Published in: Animal science journal 2021-01, Vol.92 (1), p.e13649-n/a
• Main Authors: Banaszak, Mirosław, Biesek, Jakub, Adamski, Marek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminosilicates; Aluminum silicates; Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Body weight; Breast muscle; chicken production; Chickens; Clay; Diet; Feeds; growth performance; Meat; Meat - analysis; Meat quality; Muscles; Pectoralis Muscles; Pellets; physicochemical parameters; Poultry; straw pellets; Zeolites
• ISSN: 1344-3941; 1740-0929
• DOI: 10.1111/asj.13649

The study's aim was to analyze the effects of different levels of halloysite (H) and zeolite (Z) in feed and pellets on the growth and meat quality in chickens; 500 Ross 308 broilers were assigned to five groups (1 g, control; 2–5 g, experimental). In Groups 2–5, different proportions of Z and H in feed (25:75 ratio; 0.5% to 2%) and pellet in kg/m2 (2, 0.650H; 3, 0.325H and 0.325Z; 4, 0.650Z; 5, 0.160H and 0.490Z) were used. Body weight was higher than 1 in all experimental groups, and carcass weight was higher, except for Group 2. The feed consumption was lower in Groups 3 and 5 than in Group 4. The breast muscle weight was higher in Group 3 than in the control group. In Groups 2, 3, and 5, the water holding capacity in the breast muscles was better than in Group 4 and in the leg muscles in Groups 3 and 4 than in Groups 1 and 5. Most of the tested characteristics indicate a beneficial effect of aluminosilicates in feed and litter on the growth and quality of meat.