A comparison study on the effects of dietary conventional and ultra-fine ground palygorskite supplementation on the growth performance and digestive function of broiler chickens

Abstract This study aimed to compare the effects of conventional and ultra-fine ground palygorskite (Pal) supplementation on the growth performance and digestive function of broilers. A total of 192 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly divided into three treatments with eight replicates of eight birds each (four males and four females). The broilers in the three groups were fed with a basal diet (control group), or the basal diet supplemented with 10 g/kg of either conventional or ultra-fine ground Pal during a 42-day feeding experiment. Compared to the control group, broilers fed the basal diet supplemented with the ultra-fine Pal exhibited a lower feed to gain ratio from 22 to 42 and from 1 to 42 days of age (P   .05). No differences were observed in serum biochemical parameters or relative weight of the digestive organ among groups (P > .05). Dietary ultra-fine ground Pal supplementation increased the apparent utilization of organic matter and ether extract from 38 to 40 days of age compared to the control group (P   .05). Moreover, the apparent organic matter utilization of broilers was increased by ultra-fine ground Pal supplementation from 38 to 40 days of age compared to supplementation with conventional ground Pal (P