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Effect of dietary inclusion of corn from different origins on metabolizable energy, amino acid digestibility, growth performance, carcass traits, and nutrient digestibility of broilers.


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dc.contributor.advisorPacheco, Wilmer
dc.contributor.authorVargas Patino, Jose Isaac
dc.date.accessioned2022-12-02T23:10:58Z
dc.date.available2022-12-02T23:10:58Z
dc.date.issued2022-12-02
dc.identifier.urihttps://etd.auburn.edu//handle/10415/8501
dc.description.abstractCorn is an important feed ingredient of broiler diets due to its high content of apparent metabolizable energy (AME). Additionally, its high inclusion in diets makes it a non-negligible source of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA). However, extensive research has reported variability on its physical characteristics, chemical composition, and nutritional value, which can impact its utilization by the birds. Therefore, understanding corn’s variability is crucial for poultry nutritionists and feed mills that use corn from different origins. Three experiments were designed to assess the effect of the inclusion of corn from the United States (USA), Argentina (ARG), and Brazil (BRA) in broiler diets on AME, apparent ileal AA digestibility (AIAAD), growth performance, processing characteristics, and nutrient digestibility. The objective of experiment 1 was to evaluate AME of corn from each origin for broilers from 16 to 18 d of age. A total of 432- day old YPM x Ross 708 male broilers were randomly distributed in 48 battery cages, fed a common starter until 11 d of age, and then subjected to 4 dietary treatments with 12 replicates per treatment. Dietary treatments consisted of a grower basal diet with 30% dextrose inclusion, and 3 test diets obtained by the substitution of dextrose with corn from each origin. A 72-hour AME assay using the total collection method was conducted from 16 to 18 d of age. Corn origin did not influence (P > 0.05) AME as variability between corn sources was  43 kcal/kg. The objective of experiment 2 was to assess AIAAD of corn from each origin for 18-day old broilers. A total of 324-day old YPM x Ross 708 male broilers were randomly distributed in 36 battery cages, fed a common starter until 11 d of age, and then subjected to 3 dietary treatments with 12 replicates per treatment. Dietary treatments consisted of 3 grower test diets in which corn from each origin was the only source of AA for the birds. An AIAAD assay using the index method was conducted from 12 to 18 d of age. No differences (P > 0.05) were found on AIAAD among corn from different origin for all analyzed AA but tryptophan (Trp). Broilers fed corn from BRA had a higher (P = 0.024) Trp digestibility compared to broilers fed corn from the USA, but not different (P > 0.05) than broilers fed corn from ARG. Lastly, the objective of experiment 3 was to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of corn from different origin on growth performance, processing characteristics, and nutrient digestibility of broilers from 1 to 35 d of age. A total of 900-day old YPM x Ross 708 male broilers were randomly distributed in 36 floor pens and subjected to 3 dietary treatments with 12 replicates per treatment. Dietary treatments consisted of starter, grower and finisher diets containing the same amount of corn from each origin. No statistical differences (P > 0.05) were observed on body weight (BW) and body weight gain (BWG) throughout the experimental period. However, at 35 d of age broilers fed diets with inclusion of corn from BRA had numerically the highest BW and BWG followed by broilers fed diets with inclusion of corn from the USA and finally broilers fed diets with inclusion of corn from ARG. Similarly, broilers fed diets with inclusion of corn from BRA and the USA had a significantly lower (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.002) feed conversion ratio (FCR) from 1 to 21 and 1 to 35 d of age in comparison to broilers fed diets containing corn from ARG. No statistical differences (P > 0.05) were observed for all processing characteristics but breast weight as broilers fed diets with corn form BRA had a higher breast weight (P = 0.036) compared to the treatment with inclusion of corn from ARG. Finally, no differences (P > 0.05) were observed for crude protein and fat digestibility, however, birds fed diets with inclusion of corn from BRA and the USA had higher (P = 0.0003, P = 0.0003 and P = 0.001) digestibility of phosphorus, calcium and potassium in comparison to birds subjected to diets with inclusion of corn from ARG. Overall, the AME and AIAAD studies indicated a low variability among corn samples, that could be attributed to small differences on chemical composition. On the other hand, dietary inclusion of corn from different origin in the floor pen experiment, indicated an effect on FCR, breast weight and mineral digestibility, that supports the need to consider nutritional variability among corn from different origin and highlights the importance of quick prediction systems of the nutritional value of ingredients for the formulation of broiler feedstuffs.en_US
dc.rightsEMBARGO_NOT_AUBURNen_US
dc.subjectPoultry Scienceen_US
dc.titleEffect of dietary inclusion of corn from different origins on metabolizable energy, amino acid digestibility, growth performance, carcass traits, and nutrient digestibility of broilers.en_US
dc.typeMaster's Thesisen_US
dc.embargo.lengthMONTHS_WITHHELD:60en_US
dc.embargo.statusEMBARGOEDen_US
dc.embargo.enddate2027-12-02en_US

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