Effect of Encapsulated Choline Chloride on Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Some Blood Parameters in Broiler Chicks

This study examined the effects of various levels of dietary encapsulated choline chloride (ECC) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, serum and liver lipids content in Ross 308 broilers. A total of 480 day-old broilers were assigned to eight dietary treatments with six replicates of 10 birds each from 1 to 21 days of age. Eight experimental diets were provided from a basal non-added choline chloride diet as follow: six diets were made by the addition of ECC at the rate of 300, 600, 900, 1200, 1500 and 1800 mg/kg and a negative and a positive control diet with zero and 1500 mg/kg commercial choline chloride (CCC), respectively. The body weight gain, feed intake, choline chloride (CC) intake, live body weight, as well as carcass, breast muscle, thigh muscle, and liver weights were linearly (P < 0.05) related to the dietary levels of ECC. Dietary supplementation of ECC at the levels of 1200 and 1500 mg/kg decreased (P = 0.014) liver total lipid percentage, compared to those fed the negative control diet. The birds fed diets containing 900 and 1200 mg ECC/kg had lower liver triglyceride concentration than those fed negative control diet (P = 0.001). Furthermore, supplemented ECC at the levels of 1200 and 1800 mg/kg, led to an increase (P = 0.006) in the concentration of phospholipid in the liver. The ECC requirements were estimated at 1335.1, 1371.6 and 1353.3 mg/kg of diet for maximizing body weight gain, carcass weight, and breast weight, respectively (P < 0.001). It is concluded that the ECC may be used as an alternative to CC in the diet at the rate of 1500 mg/kg with no adverse effect on productive performance, breast and thigh muscle weight, and liver fat content in broilers.