Impact of Dietary Corn Fiber on Growth Performance, Digestive Organs, Intestinal Morphology, and Nutrient Digestibility in Broiler Chickens

Adding moderate levels of insoluble dietary fiber is a promising and economical method for enhancing broiler chickens' health status and performance. The current research aimed to determine the effect of corn bran (CB) as an insoluble fiber on performance parameters, digestive organs, intestinal morphology, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens. A total of ۲۴۰ one-day-old Ross broilers were randomly divided into four treatments: a control (without CB inclusion) and three treatments with CB at ۲۵, ۵۰, and ۷۵ g/kg. Dietary inclusion of ۵۰ and ۷۵ g/kg of CB significantly decreased daily feed intake and weight gain during the entire rearing period. However, the feed conversion ratio was not affected by the experimental treatments. Carcass yields significantly increased in birds fed control and ۲۵ g/kg CB diets compared to those fed on ۵۰ and ۷۵ g/kg of CB. On the other hand, feeding ۵۰ and ۷۵ g/kg of CB caused a significant increase in the gastrointestinal tract and gizzard relative weights compared to the control. The groups fed ۵۰ and ۷۵ g/kg CB-containing diets had the heaviest ileal and cecal weights relative to the control group. The shortest compartments of the small intestine were observed in the group fed the control diet compared to the CB inclusion treatments (P < ۰.۰۵). No significant differences were observed in intestinal morphology and nutrient digestibility among treatments. In conclusion, supplementing CB as an insoluble fiber at ۲۵ g/kg improved the health status of broiler chickens without impairing growth performance.

Keywords:

Broiler , Corn bran , Gut function , Inclusion level , Digestive organ , Growth performance