Vitamin E and organic selenium for broilers from 22 to 42 days old: performance and carcass traits

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Poultry Nutrition
• Animal Physiology

Background:

• Heat stress negatively impacts broiler performance, carcass yield, and organ health.
• Selenium and vitamin E are crucial antioxidants that can mitigate oxidative stress in poultry.
• Optimizing dietary levels of these nutrients is vital for broiler resilience during heat stress periods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of varying dietary levels of selenium and vitamin E on broiler chickens subjected to cyclic heat stress.
• To determine the impact of these supplements on broiler performance, viability, productive efficiency, and carcass/organ yields.
• To identify optimal supplementation strategies for enhancing broiler health and productivity under heat stress conditions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized block design with a 2x3 factorial arrangement was used, testing two selenium levels (0.1, 0.3 mg/kg) and three vitamin E levels (300, 400, 500 mg/kg).
• Broilers were exposed to natural cyclic high-temperature conditions from 22 to 42 days of age.
• Performance metrics, viability, productive efficiency, and yields of carcass, major cuts, organs, and abdominal fat were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Dietary vitamin E levels did not significantly affect broiler performance or production efficiency during the 22-33 and 22-42 day periods.
• A selenium inclusion level of 0.3 mg/kg significantly improved broiler viability during both experimental phases.
• Carcass, major cut, intestine, and heart yields were unaffected by selenium and vitamin E levels, but abdominal fat decreased linearly with vitamin E inclusion at 0.1 mg/kg selenium.

Conclusions:

• Supplementation with 0.3 mg/kg of selenium enhances broiler chicken viability under cyclic heat stress.
• Vitamin E, within the tested range, does not improve overall performance or production efficiency in broilers facing heat stress.
• The findings suggest that selenium plays a more critical role than vitamin E in improving broiler resilience to heat stress, particularly concerning survival rates.