ORIGINAL PAPER
The effect of dietary potassium and sodium on
performance, carcass traits, and nitrogen balance
and excreta moisture in broiler chicken
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National Research Institute of Animal Production,
Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science,
32-083 Balice, Poland
Publication date: 2010-05-07
Corresponding author
J. Koreleski
National Research Institute of Animal Production,
Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science,
32-083 Balice, Poland
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2010;19(2):244-256
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The aim of the 3 × 3 factorial experiment on broilers was to investigate the effect of high dietary
levels of potassium (K) and different levels of sodium (Na) on chicken performance, carcass traits,
dry matter content in excreta and nitrogen balance. Three hundred and sixty one-day-old Ross 308
chickens were allocated to 9 groups, in 5 replicates of 8 (4♂ and 4♀). Chickens from 1 to 42 days old
were kept in cages with wire floors to enable excreta collection, and were provided with water and feed
ad libitum. The basal starter (days 1-14) and grower (days15-42) diets contained, as analysed, 1.73 g
and 1.89 g·kg-1 chloride (Cl), 10.7 g and 10.8 g K and 0.69 and 0.94 g Na, respectively. Basal diets were
supplemented with cations containing, as analysed, 12.2/11.8 g and 12.7/12.5 g·kg-1 K and 1.22/1.25 g
and 1.68/1.61 g·kg-1 Na, for the starter/grower periods of feeding, respectively. The molar proportion
of Na:K in diets used in the experiment ranged from 0.09 to 0.27 in the starter diet and from 0.13 to
0.25 in the grower/finisher diet; the dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) values varied between 255 to
349 and 264 to 336, respectively.
During the starter feeding period, body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion
ratio (FCR) in the chickens were positively affected by increasing the Na supplement. Throughout the
feeding period, Na supplementation improved BWG, FI and FCR and production index values and
increased carcass yield. The dry matter content of the excreta was negatively affected by the K level in
the diet; the 12.7 g K dietary content, in particular, caused a higher moisture content.
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