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Phosphorus characterization in feces from broiler chicks fed low‐phytate barley diets
Author(s) -
Leytem April B,
Thacker Phil A,
Turner Benjamin L
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2865
Subject(s) - feces , phosphorus , broiler , biology , zoology , amen , composition (language) , food science , chemistry , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , organic chemistry
The inclusion of low phytate grains in poultry diets can reduce the phosphorus (P) content of poultry feces, but their influence on fecal P composition is not well established. To assess this, 100 male broiler chicks (21 days old) were fed dietary treatments based on either a wild‐type barley or one of three low phytate mutant barleys with 59, 62 and 99% reductions in phytate P, compared with the normal barley diet. The birds were housed in raised‐floor battery cages with mesh grate floors above fecal collection trays with five birds per pen and five pens per treatment. The birds were fed for 9 days and feces were collected twice a day during the last 2 days of the experiment. Total P concentrations were 14–24% lower in feces from birds fed low phytate barley diets compared with those fed the normal barley diet. Phosphorus digestibility increased ( P < 0.05) as phytate in the barley diet decreased. Phosphate was the major P fraction in the feces (69–75% extracted P) regardless of the type of barley fed. Phytate constituted only 3–12% of the P in the feces, indicating its hydrolysis in the bird. Overall, these results suggest that feeding low‐phytate barley diets can reduce P concentrations in poultry feces without causing significant changes in P composition. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry