Broiler responses to ferrous sulfate at different time periods: a comprehensive research on qualitative parameters of...

The objective of present study was to study the effects of dietary ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄) and time periods on Fe deposition, nutrients composition, color indices, water-holding capacity and oxidative stability of breast meat in broilers. This experiment was performed by 450 broilers in a 3 × 3 factorial design with 3 levels of supplemental Fe (0, 40 and 80 mg/kg) and 3 time periods (total, T: from 1 to 42 days; grower and finisher, GF: from 11 to 42 days and finisher, F: from 25 to 42 days). The results showed that increasing the iron supplementation to 80 mg/kg increased the breast meat crude Protein. Adding 80 mg/kg of FeSO₄ during the T period increased the iron content of breast meat compared to other dietary periods. Supplementation of 40 mg/kg FeSO₄ during T and GF periods increased quadratically (P < 0.001) the L* value of meat compared to F period. Meat redness significantly increased by adding of 80 mg/kg iron into broiler diet. At 1 and 7 day postmortem, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of meat were measured for determination of lipid oxidation stability of tissue. Feeding 40 mg/kg Fe caused a higher MDA value at both time points compared to 0 mg/kg Fe (linear response). However, increasing the Fe level to 80 mg/kg decreased MDA of meat (quadratic response). Adding 40 mg/kg Fe increased T-AOC of meat at both time points. It was concluded that dietary supplementation of 80 mg/kg Fe during T period resulted in the higher Fe deposition and better oxidative stability of breast meat in broilers.