Effects of reducing dietary amino acid density and stocking density on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and occurrence of white striping in broiler chickens

ABSTRACT A 49-d trial was conducted to determine the impact of dietary amino acid (AA) density and stocking density (SD) on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and white striping (WS) occurrence in broiler chickens. Two hundred eighty-eight Ross 308 male broilers consisting of six replicate cages with eight broilers per replicate were used. Treatments were arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial and consisted of 3 AA densities (normal, 10% or 20% lower than normal) and 2 different SD (High; 35 kg/m2 or Low; 26 kg/m2). Breasts were classified as normal, moderate, and severe for WS. Data were analyzed as a completely randomized design using the GLM procedure. Decreasing AA density decreased overall growth performance, carcass, breast yields, and fillet dimensions linearly, while leg and rib cage yields increased linearly (P