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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #88395
Title: EFFECT OF DIETARY PHYTASE AND HIGH AVAILABLE PHOSPHORUS (HAP) CORN ON BROILER CHICKEN PERFORMANCE

Author
item Huff, William
item Moore, Philip
item WALDROUP, P. - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item WALDROUP, A. - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item Balog, Janice
item Huff, Geraldine
item Rath, Narayan
item DANIEL, T. - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item Raboy, Victor

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Two trials were conducted to determine the effects on broiler chicken performance and health of reducing dietary phophorus levels in poultry feed by treating the feed with the enzyme phytase, formulating diets using high available phosphorus (HAP) corn, or when diets were formulated with HAP corn and treated with the enzyme. Male broiler chickens were placed in an experimental design consisting of 4 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens of 50 broilers per pen. When data from the two trials were combined there was a significant increase in body weight in the broilers fed the phytase treated diets at 49 days of age. These data indicate that total phosphorus can be reduced by at least 11% in diets prepared with HAP corn, or in diets supplemented with phytase without affecting the performance or health of broiler chickens. When diets are prepared with HAP corn and supplemented with phytase the dietary addition of total phosphorus can be reduced by at least 25% without affecting broiler chicken performance or health. These studies demonstrate that the poultry industry can significantly reduce phosphorus in the diets of chickens, which will reduce the environmental impact of the poultry industry.

Technical Abstract: Two trials were conducted to determine the effects on broiler chicken performance and health of reducing dietary phophorus levels by treating feed with the enzyme phytase, formulating diets using high available phosphorus (HAP) corn, or when diets were formulated with HAP corn and treated with phytase. Cobb X Cobb male broiler chickens were placed in an experimental design consisting of 4 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens of 50 broilers per pen. The dietary treatments consisted of untreated control feed, phytase supplemented feed (500 U per kg), diets prepared with HAP corn, and diets prepared with HAP corn and supplemented with phytase. The chickens were maintained on these dietary treatments from day of age to 49 days of age with feed and water made available for ad libitum consumption. When the two trials were combined there was a significant (P