Potassium chloride supplementation in broiler rearing
The influence of dietary feed-grade potassium chloride on the productive performance in broilers was studied. Supplementation of diets with 1500 and 3000 ppm of this mineral additive improved live bodyweight in broilers at 34 days of age by 3.52 and 1.33%, respectively, feed conversion ratio by 3.01 and 0.71%. Supplementation of drinking water (1.5 g per 1 L) improved these productivity parameters by 1.12 and 1.35%, respectively.
Keywords: broiler chicks, potassium chloride, productive performance, electrolyte balance.
To increase productivity of modern cross-bred poultry it is critically important to ensure appropriate mineral supplementation. However the modern composition of compound poultry feed does not provide an adequate level of macro elements such as calcium, phosphorus and sodium, thus its diet must be supplemented with minerals. This allows formulating balanced compound feeds to meet animal needs.
Compound poultry feeds are hardly ever deficient of potassium, it is added in recipes mainly to maintain electrolyte balance. Potassium sources in diets are soybean meal, nutritional yeast and food processing byproducts. Potassium deficient poultry ration results in poor growth rate, muscle weakness, decreased intestinal tonus, and cardiac disorders. With significantly higher levels of potassium thirst develops. It was found that potassium cations reduce accumulation of free lysine in muscles and liver, increase its concentration in blood plasm and absorption in animals’ body, including birds, which benefits protein synthesis [4].
-
Most popular related searches
Customer comments
No comments were found for Potassium chloride supplementation in broiler rearing. Be the first to comment!