Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry is a valid tool for assessing in vivo body composition of broilers

Abstract

The use of non-invasive techniques to estimate body composition in animals in vivo conforms to the desire to improve the welfare of animals during research and also has the potential to advance scientific research. The purpose of the present study was to determine a predictive equation of the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) method for broilers by comparing the measurement of body composition using DXA with that by chemical analysis. In total, 720 day-old Cobb500 broilers were distributed into a split-plot arrangement 3 (crude protein concentrations of diets) × 2 (genders) × 2 (methods of chemical body evaluation), with six replications of 20 birds each. To promote the modification of the body composition of broilers, diets varied in the crude protein concentration, which was 70%, 100% and 130% of the required. Two hundred and sixteen birds in different ages were evaluated by its bodyweight, lean, fat and ash contents. The data were submitted to ANOVA and it was demonstrated that the dietary crude protein levels applied allowed a greater variation of the body composition of the birds. Also, the results indicated that the DXA method did not predict fat mass, lean mass or bone mineral content as well as did chemical composition analysis, resulting in the need to develop regression equations for improving the in vivo prediction of these chemical components. The regression equations developed here enable the feather-free body composition of individual broilers to be directly estimated throughout growth using the DXA non-invasive technique.

Carcass and Primal Composition Predictions Using Camera Vision Systems (CVS) and Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) Technologies on Mature Cows

“…In agreement with the present results, the feasibility of DXA technology in assessing carcass composition has been stated for broiler chickens [ 13 ], pigs [ 15 ], and sheep [ 14 ], and good R 2 values have also been described for calves [ 16 , 18 ]. Aligning with our results, in all these studies, higher R 2 values were described for total fat and total lean estimations than for total bone estimations.…”

“…On the other hand, Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) technology is a promising indirect method to estimate carcass composition due to its relatively low cost, high reliability of data collection, and ease of use [ 5 ]. In the literature, the feasibility, accuracy, and precision of DXA technology has been reported on salmon [ 12 ], broiler chickens [ 13 ], sheep [ 14 ], swine [ 15 ], and cattle [ 16 ]. In addition, Soladoye et al [ 15 ], Kipper et al [ 17 ], and López-Campos et al [ 18 ] assessed the accuracy of DXA technology on mass measurement of primal cuts from pigs and steers.…”

Effect of feed restriction on the maintenance energy requirement of broiler breeders

“…After FHP measurements, lean mass (protein, water, and solute contents), lipid mass, and bone mineral content were analyzed for each bird in vivo using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The DEXA scanning procedure was done according to the validated procedure reported by Gonç alves et al [15]. The relative weight was expressed in grams of component per kilo of body weight.…”

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry: an effective approach for predicting broiler chicken body composition

“…Although carcass chemical analysis produces reliable measurements, it does not allow for repeated measurements on the same animal throughout its growth, which is feasible with live animal methods. Furthermore, live animal methods meet the ethical demands of certain groups of society for animal care and use, by preventing slaughter of several individuals; moreover, this method can reduce costs and environmental pollution associated with chemical analysis ( Gonçalves et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Despite these advantages, DEXA needs to be calibrated to estimate the body composition of birds because the technique is not capable of directly estimating protein and water contents. Some works have shown that DEXA is effective at estimating body composition of chickens by comparing DEXA results with chemical analysis ( Mitchell et al, 1997 ; Swennen et al, 2004 ; Salas et al, 2012 ; Gonçalves et al, 2018 ; Schallier et al, 2019 ). According to Mitchell et al (2011) , chicken feathers are not detected by DEXA.…”