Table 2.
Proportional weights (g/100 g body weight [BW]) of the full caeca and caecal content measured at different broiler ages (day 5, 10, 15, 21, 28, 35) for broilers fed a control (CTRL) and a 0.50% AXOS-supplemented (AXOS) wheat-based diet.
| Parameters (g/100 g BW)1 | Proportional weight caeca | Proportional weight caecal content |
|---|---|---|
| Main effects | ||
| Age (D) | ||
| 5 | 1.19a | 0.55a |
| 10 | 0.96b | 0.47a,b |
| 15 | 0.73c | 0.34b,c |
| 21 | 0.66c | 0.37b,c |
| 28 | 0.62c,d | 0.33c |
| 35 | 0.49d | 0.27c |
| Diet | ||
| AXOS | 0.91y | 0.46y |
| CTRL | 0.81z | 0.38z |
| Pooled SEM | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| P values | ||
| Age | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Diet | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Age × Diet | NS | NS |
a–dDifferent superscripts within the column “Age (D)” have significant age differences for each parameter (main effect of age, P < 0.05).
y,zDifferent superscripts within the column “Diet” have significant dietary treatment differences for each parameter (main effect of diet, P < 0.05).
Abbreviations: AXOS, arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides; NS, not significant.
1
Means from at least 15 different individual broilers at the 6 different broiler ages (N = 15).