Unhydrolyzed vegetable sucrose polyester in broiler diets

Duplicate 42-d broiler studies were conducted in pens with litter on the floor, beginning with 1-d-old chicks obtained from a commercial hatchery. Seven replicate pens, each starting with 12 male and 12 female chicks, received each dietary treatment in a randomized-block design. Dietary treatments comprised 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, or 2.5% unhydrolyzed vegetable sucrose polyester (UVSP) added to the starting and finishing diets at the expense of filler. In both studies, up to 2.5% UVSP did not have a significant negative effect on body weights, daily feed intake, feed conversion, or litter moisture. In Experiment 2, average body weights were significantly greater than control for groups that received 0.5, 2.0, or 2.5% UVSP. However, the degree of shank yellowness as measured with a Minolta Chroma-meter was consistently and significantly reduced by 0.5% or more UVSP. Although xanthophyll levels were intentionally lowered somewhat to improve sensitivity (7.9 and 9.6 mg/kg for starter and finished feeds, respectively), it is obvious that the utilization of xanthophyll was reduced somewhat by UVSP. Additional pigment titration trials could provide valuable information about the levels required to overcome this effect.