Trouw Nutrition, a Nutreco company, and University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, presented findings from a joint research study during the annual meeting of the Poultry Science Association 15-18 July in Montreal, Canada. The study showed supplementing broiler diets with 100 ppm IntelliBond Zinc delivered improved bone development and nutrient values of breast meat compared to other sources of zinc.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace mineral for bone development, normal intestinal barrier function and regeneration of damaged gut epithelium. Research shows that the source of zinc supplementation in the broiler diet can affect bird performance and nutrient values. Zinc hydroxychloride has covalent bonds which make it less reactive both in feed and in the bird’s gastrointestinal tract epithelium compared to ionic salt forms such as zinc oxide or sulphate. The objective of the validation study, presented at the PSA Annual Meeting, was to evaluate the effect of different zinc sources (zinc oxide, zinc sulphate and zinc hydroxychloride) and levels of zinc hydroxychloride (IntelliBondZn - IBZ) on tibia breaking strength and ash content, zinc deposition in the liver and breast meat and gut integrity in broilers fed wheat and soybean meal based diets.

The results of this study showed that the supplementation of 100 ppm Zn from IBZ improved tibia breaking strength at d35 (426 vs 367 N/mm², P < 0.05), increased breast meat zinc content (22.27 vs 19.50 µg/g, P=002) and tended to enhanced liver Zn content compared to the negative control diet (no added Zn) (88.90 vs. 80.82 µg/g, P = 0.07). The fluorecein isothiocyanate-dextran values (average of 0.1038 ug/mL, P > 0.05) was comparable among the treatments, suggesting that gut integrity was not influenced by dietary Zn source or level. The trial concluded that the supplementation of 100 ppm Zn from IBZ is beneficial to broiler chickens in bone development and zinc content of breast meat.

“As we learn more about the benefits hydroxychloride trace mineral supplementation provides, it is clear that the composition of the ingredient and its mode of action plays a key role in delivering performance and nutrition benefits,” said Sangeeta Singh, Team Lead Nutritional Solutions. Trouw Nutrition is a pioneer in trace mineral supplementation and continues to invest research and development efforts to help poultry producers optimise their flocks’ nutrition.