The effect of dietary taurine supplementation on broiler performance, the cardiovascular system, and the incidence of ascites related mortalities

Abstract

The modern broiler has successfully been selected and bred year on year to grow faster, more efficient, and ultimately to be more profitable. Unfortunately, this rapid progress has over the years resulted in a whole range of physiological constraints such as Ascites or Pulmonary Hypertension Syndrome (PHS). These diseases or physiological constraints are directly related to the increased pressure placed on the cardiovascular and pulmonary system to keep up with the exceptionally high demand for rapid growth and development. Previous interventions implemented to control Ascites have not been entirely successful, placing profitability and sustainability of broiler farming operations under increased risk. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect taurine and different inclusion levels thereof on performance, the cardiovascular system and ascites related mortalities on broilers fed diets with or without poultry by-product meal. Six different feeds, that were scientifically formulated and produced with different taurine inclusion levels, half of them without PBY and the other half with PBY were fed to 2880 Ross 308 broilers, randomly allocated to 48 pens, with 8 replicated per treatment and 60 birds per pen. The six treatments were formulated to the same nutritional specifications, the only difference being the inclusion levels of taurine and poultry by-product meal, respectively. The six treatments ranged from a control without poultry by-product meal and no taurine (Treatment 1) to the highest taurine inclusion level with poultry by-product meal (Treatment 6). Over a 33-day growth trial, broiler performance and mortalities were measured, and physiological traits of the heart were measured once off at the end of the cycle. Overall, the feed with the highest taurine inclusion level of 0.075%, and in conjunction with PBY, produced significantly greater bodyweights (BW) at weekly intervals from 14-33 days. All heart measurements and weekly mortality percentages, across all mortality categories, found no significant differences between treatments, although mortality categories showed some trends. This study suggests that dietary taurine supplementation and the use of PBY can effectively be adopted as a means of improving broiler performance such as weekly bodyweights but may not avert the different physiological properties of the heart and the incidence of ascites-related mortalities.