Abstract

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) in mash and crumbled pellet broiler diets. A total of 400 male chicks (Cobb 500; initial BW 0.092 lb) were housed in 4 Petersime batteries and used in an 18-d study. Treatments were randomly assigned to 80 cages within location block resulting in 8 cages per treatment with 5 chicks per cage at placement. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 5 factorial with main effects of feed type (mash and crumbled pellet) and 0.5% MCFA inclusion (no inclusion, control; hexanoic acid, C6; octanoic acid, C8; decanoic acid, C10; and dodecanoic acid, C12). Fat inclusions in the diets were equalized using 0.5% soybean oil in the control diet. Prior to crumbling, diets were conditioned at 185°F for approximately 20 s and pelleted (CPM, model CL-5, Crawfordsville, IN) with a 5/32 × 7/8 in. ring die. Dietary treatments were fed for the full duration of the study. There was no evidence of feed form × MCFA interactions. From d 0 to 18, chicks fed pelleted diets had improved (P<0.001) body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and final BW compared to those fed mash diets. For the overall treatment period, there was no evidence of a MCFA effect (P>0.10) on broiler performance. Pelleting and crumbling feed improved growth performance regardless of MCFA inclusion. The MCFA inclusion did not positively influence growth performance of broilers.

Keywords: broilers, medium chain fatty acids, pellet, poultry

How to Cite:

Nichols, G. E., Wecker, H. K., Evans, C. E., Jones, C. K., Stark, C. R. & Paulk, C. B., (2021) “The Effects of Medium Chain Fatty Acids in Mash and Crumbled Pellet Diets on Growth Performance of Broilers”, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports 7(10). doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5977.8158