An optimal dietary non-phytate phosphorus level of broilers fed a conventional corn–soybean meal diet from 4 to 6 weeks of age

It is imperative to evaluate precise nutrient requirements of animals in order to optimize productivity and minimize feed cost and nutrient excretions. The current non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) recommendation for broilers is based on the papers published 30 years ago. However, today’s commercial birds are quite different from those before 30 years. Therefore, the present experiment was conducted with growing male broiler chickens to evaluate an optimal dietary NPP level of broiler chickens fed a conventional corn–soybean meal diet from 4 to 6 weeks of age. The 1-day-old chicks were fed corn–soybean meal diet containing 0.39% NPP from 1 to 3 weeks of age. At 22 days of age, 360 birds were selected and randomly allotted by BW to one of 10 dietary treatments with six replicate cages of six birds per cage for each treatment. Birds were fed the P-unsupplemented corn–soybean meal basal diet and the basal diet supplemented with inorganic P as CaHPO₄·H₂O ranging from 0.00% to 0.45% with 0.05% increment from 4 to 6 weeks of age. The dietary NPP levels were 0.09%, 0.14%, 0.20%, 0.24%, 0.30%, 0.34%, 0.38%, 0.45%, 0.49% and 0.54%, respectively, and the dietary Ca level was fixed at 0.90% for all treatments. The results showed that average daily gain, serum inorganic P concentration, tibia bone strength, tibia ash percentage and P percentage, tibia bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD), middle toe ash percentage and P percentage, middle toe BMC, total body BMC and BMD were affected (P<0.0001) by dietary NPP level, and increased linearly (P<0.0001) and quadratically (P<0.003) as dietary NPP levels increased. Optimal dietary NPP levels estimated based on fitted broken-line models (P<0.0001) of the above indices are 0.21%, 0.29%, 0.29%, 0.29%, 0.29%, 0.31%, 0.29%, 0.30%, 0.27%, 0.29% and 0.28%, respectively. It is suggested that the total body BMC and BMD, and middle toe ash P and BMC might be new, sensitive and non-invasive criteria to evaluate the dietary NPP requirements of broilers. The optimal dietary NPP level would be 0.31% for broiler chickens fed a conventional corn–soybean meal diet from 4 to 6 weeks of age.