Effects of dietary copper supplementation on production performance and plasma biochemical parameters in broiler chickens

1. A study was conducted to estimate the effect of copper (Cu) supplementation on growth performance and biochemical profiles of blood and meat in broiler chickens.

2. A total of 240?d-old broiler chicks (Vencobb-100) were randomly divided into 12 groups, each of 20 chicks (4 treatments?×?3 replicates).

3. The basal diet (T₁) contained 215?g?kg^?1 crude protein (CP), 12·76?MJ?kg^?1 ME, 32?g?kg^?1 total calcium and 5?g?kg^?1 total phosphorus. T_2, T₃ and T₄ were formulated to contain an additional 75, 150 and 250?mg?Cu?kg^?1 diet, respectively. Copper sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO₄, 5H₂O) was used as the source of Cu.

4. Significant reductions in plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride, and an elevated concentration of HDL-cholesterol, were observed in the chickens fed with 250?mg?Cu?kg^?1 (T₄) of feed at the 3rd and 6th week of the experiment. Total cholesterol in meat decreased significantly in the birds fed with dietary Cu at 250?mg?kg^?1 (T₄) of feed.

5. Growth performance was measured in terms of live weight gain, cumulative feed intake and feed conversion ratio at the end of d 21 and d 42 of the experiment, and the result was found to be commercially beneficial for the chickens receiving 150?mg?Cu?kg^?1 (T₃) of diet. The concentration of Cu in breast muscle and liver increased significantly at the end of experiment.

6. From this study it can be concluded that supplementation with dietary Cu may be beneficial for production performance and plasma biochemical characteristics of broiler chickens.