PSIV-B-21 - Broilers as an Animal Model to Assess Different Copper, Manganese and Zinc Mineral Sources on Absorption

The study objective was to evaluate absorption differences between different sources of Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn) and Zin (Zn) in broiler diets. Cobb500 chicks (n = 130, 0-d old) were housed in colony brooders and offered basal diet and water ad libitum for eight days. Following the transition phase, 96 straight-run chicks were randomly assigned to one of 48 battery cages (2 chicks/cage; 12 cages/treatment) and offered one of three soy-corn based diets for three weeks: Negative Control (NC; Basal diet at 6 mg/kg Cu, 35 mg/kg Mn, and 36 mg/kg Zn); Positive Control (PC; NC + 15 mg/kg Cu, 100 mg/kg Mn, and 100 mg/kg Zn from Sulfate sources); Treatment 1 (T1; NC + 15 mg/kg Cu, 100 mg/kg Mn, and 100 mg/kg Zn from hydroxychloride Product 1); and Treatment 2 (T2; NC + 15 mg/kg Cu, 100 mg/kg Mn, and 100 mg/kg Zn from hydroxychloride sources Product 2). Week three birds were bled and dissected to obtain liver, breast and femur samples for mineral absorption status. Data were analyzed using RV3.6.1 procedures with non-repeated measures. Plasma and breast tissue were not (P ≥ 0.05) impacted by mineral source, however numerical increases were reported in PC, T1 and T2 over NC. Liver Cu and Zn concentrations were non-significant (P ≥ 0.05) for all treatments. However liver Mn concentrations increased (P ≤ 0.05) in Pc and T1. Copper bone concentrations were not (P ≥ 0.05) affected, but an increase (P ≤ 0.05) in Mn and Zn was reported for PC, T1 and T2 versus NC. These results indicate increased absorption occurs when mineral sources are adequately supplemented beyond basal diet levels and that source may impact absorption rate. Additional research is needed to address the absorption ability of different mineral sources to better understand the impact on bird performance.