Current broilers may suffer from leg problems. Previous research in the lab of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, showed that between E17 and hatch the yolk contains low P, Cu, Mn and Zn reserves and respectively their uptake by the embryo is low.
As the skeletal system is dependent upon such minerals for its proper development, this may be a nutritional limitation which could hinder bone development.
To examine if the supplementation of minerals and vitamins improve bone development 300 eggs were incubated and divided to two groups: Enriched (on E17 with a solution of PO4, organic Cu, Mn and Zn, and vitamins A, E and D, by In Ovo feeding methodology) and untreated control.
Hatchlings were raised and tibiae (N=8) were taken at hatch, d7, d14, d28 and d54 for ash content and biomechanical testing. The cortical and cancellous structure and mineral density (BMD) of the bones were analysed.
Results show that at hatch and on d14, the enriched group had higher stiffness and maximal load than the control. On d7 the cancellous bone of the enriched group had higher trabecular thickness and bone percent than the control. On d28 and d54 the enriched group had increased bone mineralization (BMD or ash content). In summary, supplementation with minerals and vitamins positively affect bone properties. This may suggest that elevating the mineral content of the egg (either by In Ovo feeding or by elevated organic mineral levels in breeder flocks diet) may improve bone development and reduce leg problems in broilers.
Source: R. Yair, R. Shahar and Z. Uni
Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, Proceedings of the XIVth European Poultry Conference, June 2014, Stavanger, Norway
"*" indicates required fields
Notifications
Your Privacy Matters
It's your legal right to choose which information a website may store and have access to. With your permission, we and our third-party partners (137) store and/or access information on a device, such as unique identifiers in cookies and browsing data to collect and process personal data.
We and our partners do the following data processing:
Store and/or access information on a device, Advertising based on limited data and advertising measurement, Personalised content, content measurement, audience research, and services development
If you accept any or all of these, you will have agreed to this website's use of cookies for these purposes. You may also choose to refuse consent, but certain personalized features of the site won't be available to you.