Potential of oak acorn with and without polyethylene glycol as an alternative to corn in broiler diets

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the potential for replacing corn with oak acorn (OA), a tanninrich feedstuff, and the possible role of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in reducing detrimental effects of OA on broilers. A 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used with three levels of OA (0, 150, and 200 g/kg diet), with and without 10 g/kg PEG. A total of 528 one-day-old male and female Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of six experimental treatments, with four replicates of 22 birds each. OA was included in the starter (days 1-21) and finisher (days 22-42) diets as a replacement for corn, without changing the dietary levels of other ingredients. The results indicated that dietary inclusion of OA, without PEG, significantly reduced bodyweight gain (BWG) overall (days 1-42) and resulted in worse finisher and overall feed conversion ratios (FCR). PEG had no significant effect on the performance of birds fed diets without OA, but improved overall the BWG of birds receiving 150 and 200 g/kg OA as well as finisher and overall the FCR of birds given 150 g/kg OA. Liver and pancreas weights were not significantly influenced by OA level, PEG or their interaction. Feeding with 200 g/kg OA had deleterious effects on some tibia traits. In conclusion, a significant interaction between OA level and PEG indicates that PEG has the potential to reduce the adverse effects of OA, leading to improved performance. Thus, up to 150 g/kg OA could be included in PEG-supplemented diets, without adverse effects on performance or the tibia traits of broilers. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Egg quality traits, blood biochemical parameters and performance of laying hens fed diet included processed oak fruit

“…Improved FCR in the hens fed 10% oak‐included diet is in agreement with the observations by Saeidi et al. (2017), who fed broiler oak‐included diet with or without polyethylene glycol. In a study conducted by Sharif et al.…”

“…is native tree in Iran (Zagross region) and annually large amounts of acorns (seed) are produced. This fruit contains high levels of starch (47%–60%) and 7%–14.4% lipids (Bouderoua et al., 2009), and due to its low price, it could be used as an alternative to corn in poultry diets (Bouderoua et al., 2009; Houshmand et al., 2015; Saeidi et al., 2017). Lipids of oak acorns contain linoleic acid and ω‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (Petrovic et al., 2004).…”

Effects of Feeding Oak Acorn Flour on Hematology and Serum Biochemical Profile, and Carcass Characteristics of Japanese Quail

“…The result of the present study is in agreement with the results obtained by Maidala et al [38], they found no significant differences in the body weight gain of broiler chicks fed a corn-based diet or those fed germinative sorghum-based diets. But the result of the present study does not agree with the results obtained by Saeidi et al [39], because their results indicated that dietary inclusion of oak (150 and 200 g/kg diet) significantly reduced body weight gain overall (days 1-42) and resulted in worse finishers and overall feed conversion ratios.…”

“…The result of the present study also indicated that treatment with different concentrations oak acorn flour had no significant influences on the liver and kidney weights if compared between each other or with the control group. This result was in agreement with the results of some investigators [8], which indicated that the tannin content of the oak acorn had no negative impact on the health of (Coturnix coturnix) Japanese quail [39], also reported that the liver and pancreas weights were not significantly influenced by the oak level (150 & 200 g/kg diet).…”