Effect of type of fiber and its physicochemical properties on performance, digestive transit time, and cecal fermentation in broilers from 1 to 23 d of age

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Abstract

The effects of insoluble fiber ( IF) sources differing on particle size and hydration capacity ( HC) on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract ( GIT) development, cecal fermentation, and digestive transit time were investigated from 1 to 23 d of age in 550 Ross-308 broiler males housed in 50 cages. The experimental design was based on the administration of a common corn-soybean meal nonsupplemented with additional IF sources diet in mash form ( Control), and 4 dietary treatments consisting in the Control diet diluted with 1.5% of different IF: lignocellulose ( LC), fine-ground straw ( FS) and coarse-ground straw ( CS), all characterized by high HC; and almond shell ( AS) having low HC. Cecal fermentation was assessed by in vitro fermentation of the IF sources using the cecal content of 22-day broilers as inoculum. Compared with control birds, the inclusion of IF sources tended to impair the FCR ( P = 0.053), with birds fed the HC-IF sources (LC, FS, and CS) showing lower ADFI ( P = 0.005) and ADG ( P = 0.001) than those fed the AS diet. The relative weight of gizzard and cecum, small intestine length, and digestive transit time decreased in AS group ( P ≤ 0.050) compared with the average value of the groups fed the other IF sources. The inclusion of IF reduced ( P = 0.006) the excreta moisture content, with no differences among IF sources. Dietary treatments had no effect either on cecal short fatty acids concentration or on intestinal morphology. As indicated by the in vitro gas production results, both LC and AS were less fermented than FS and CS, although all IF sources were low fermentable. None of the IF sources were able to influence the fermentation capacity of cecal microbiota after 22 d of feeding. In summary, animals fed AS presented smaller gizzard and cecum relative size, showed higher ADFI and ADG, and tended to improve fed conversion ratio in comparison to those fed the rest of IF sources.

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Gravimetric determination of amylase-treated neutral detergent fiber in feeds with refluxing in beakers or crucibles: collaborative study.

David Mertens (2002)

As an important constituent of animal feeds, fiber represents the portion of feeds that is bulky and difficult to digest. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) method, developed over 30 years ago, is the method of choice for measuring total fiber in forages and other feeds. Several modifications that were made to improve its general applicability to all feeds and others developed in individual laboratories often resulted in variability among laboratories in measuring NDF. The amylase-treated NDF (aNDF) method, therefore, was developed as an accurate and precise method of measuring total insoluble fiber in feeds. A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of the aNDF method over the full range of animal feed materials. Twelve laboratories representing research, feed company, regulatory, and commercial feed testing laboratories analyzed 11 materials as blind duplicates. The materials represented feed matrixes, including animal products; high-protein, high-fat, and high-pectin feeds; oil seeds; grains; heated by-product feeds; and legume and grass hays and silages. Materials selected varied in chemical composition and contained 0-90% aNDF, 1-16% ash, 1-20% crude fat, 1-40% crude protein, and 0-50% starch. Correcting results for changes in blanks and reporting results as ash-free aNDF organic matter (aNDFom) improved the repeatability and reproducibility of results when aNDF was 10% fat. However, standard deviations of repeatability and reproducibility for feeds with >10% fat were similar to those of other materials. It is recommended that the aNDF method be accepted for Official First Action status.