Organic and inorganic selenium in Aseel chicken diets: Effect on production performance

Khan, M. T.
Mahmud, A.
Javed, K.
Zahoor, I.
Mehmood, S.
Hussain, J.
Rehman, M. S.

¹Department of Poultry Production
²Department of Livestock Production, Faculty of Animal Production and Technology, Ravi Campus, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-54000, Pakistan

^* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Received July 04, 2017; accepted December 01, 2017

Primary Audience: Agricultural Faculty, Poultry Farmers, Poultry Researchers, Veterinarians

Journal of Applied Poultry Research (JAPR) 27(3):p 292-298, September 2018. | DOI: 10.3382/japr/pfx070

SUMMARY

The present study was planned to explore the effects of different selenium-supplemented diets on production performance in 4 varieties of Aseel chicken, including Lakha (LK), Mushki (MS), Peshawari (PW), and Mianwali (MW). The selenium (Se) from Se-enriched yeast (SY) and sodium selenite (SS) was supplemented into a corn-soybean meal basal diet at 0.3 mg/kg, whereas control diet had no supplemental Se. In total, 84 adult molted Aseel hens (50 wk old), 21 from each variety, were randomly assigned to 12 treatment groups in a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement of 3 Se diets (organic, inorganic, and control) and 4 Aseel varieties (LK, MS, PW, and MW), under a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Each treatment had 7 replicates with individual hens per replicate. Feed intake (FI), body weight (BW), egg production (EP), egg weight (EW), egg mass (EM), FCR/dozen eggs, and FCR/kg egg mass parameters were evaluated. The results indicated that the hens fed organic Se-supplemented diet showed greater (P < 0.05) EP and EM, and improved (P < 0.05) FCR/dozen eggs and FCR/kg egg mass compared with those fed inorganic and without Se. Among varieties, MW hens showed greater (P < 0.05) BW and produced heavier (P < 0.05) eggs, whereas PW hens showed improved (P < 0.05) FCR/dozen eggs compared with those of other Aseel varieties. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of Se-enriched yeast, as an organic Se source, could be used to ameliorate the poor production performance of Aseel chicken.