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Related Experiment Videos

Folic acid requirements of broilers

C C Whitehead1, H A McCormack, J S Rennie

  • 1Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), Midlothian, Scotland.

British Poultry Science
|March 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Broiler chickens require 1.7 to 2.0 mg of folic acid per kilogram of feed for optimal growth. Supplementation recommendations for practical diets are 2.5 to 3 mg/kg.

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Area of Science:

  • Animal Nutrition
  • Avian Physiology
  • Nutritional Biochemistry

Background:

  • Folic acid (vitamin B9) is essential for cell growth and metabolism in poultry.
  • Determining optimal folic acid levels is crucial for broiler performance and health.
  • Practical broiler diets often require supplementation to meet nutritional demands.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the dietary folic acid requirements of broilers using practical wheat- and maize-based diets.
  • To assess the impact of folic acid supplementation on broiler performance and metabolic indicators.
  • To establish recommended folic acid levels for broiler starter diets.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted with broilers fed practical diets supplemented with varying levels of folic acid.
  • Broiler performance metrics, including growth and food conversion efficiency, were evaluated.
  • Metabolic criteria such as plasma folate concentrations and enzyme activities were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Growth and food conversion efficiency were optimized with 1.5 mg/kg folic acid supplementation in starter diets.
  • The estimated dietary folic acid requirement for broilers ranged from 1.7 to 2.0 mg/kg.
  • Plasma folate concentrations showed a significant response to dietary supplementation, unlike other metabolic markers.

Conclusions:

  • The optimal dietary folic acid level for broilers is estimated between 1.7 and 2.0 mg/kg.
  • Choline supplementation did not reduce the requirement for folic acid.
  • Recommended minimum folic acid supplementation for pelleted practical broiler diets is 2.5 to 3 mg/kg.

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