Dietary Supplementation of Organic Selenium Enhanced The Reproductive Performance of Aged Ross 308 Broiler Breeder Hens

A 15-week experiment was conducted to determine the proper level of our produced selenium-enriched yeast (SeY) in broiler breeder diet and to compare the effects of this product with sodium selenite (SS) or Selemax on the reproductive performance of broiler breeder hens and their chick quality. After distributing a total of 150 Ross 308 breeders in 30 pens, the hens were fed a basal diet without selenium (CG) or supplemented with different level of SeY [0.15 (SeY0.15), 0.30 (SeY0.30) and 0.45 (SeY0.45) mg/kg], 0.30 mg/kg Selemax, 0.30 mg/kg SS and then evaluated between the period of 49 to 64 weeks old (6 treatments of 5 replicates with 5 hens each). The results showed that fertile eggs hatchability had no differences in SeY0.45 and Selemax treatments (P> 0.05), but it was significantly higher in SeY0.45 treatment than other treatments (P<0.05). Also, SeY0.45 treatment led to higher total eggs hatchability and lower embryonic mortality than CG and SS treatments. On the other hand, fertility and chicks quality were not affected by selenium supplementation during this period (P> 0.05). In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of produced SeY, as an organic selenium source, can be used to improve the reproductive performance in aged broiler breeder hens at 0.45 mg/kg feed.

Keywords:

Selenium , Selenium-enriched yeast , Broiler breeder , Fertility , Hatchability