Table 4.
Effects of in ovo feeding of α-ketoglutaric acid (AKG) on growth parameters of broilers from day 0 to day 21 of rearing *.
| Parameters | Treatments | Pooled SEM | p-Value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 AKG | 0.5 AKG | 1.0 AKG | 1.5 AKG | ANOVA | Lin | Quad | ||
| BW (g/bird) | ||||||||
| Day 0 | 36.8 | 36.7 | 36.6 | 36.9 | 0.073 | 0.669 | 0.961 | 0.274 |
| Day 7 | 144.2 | 134.0 | 139.0 | 144.5 | 2.000 | 0.199 | 0.744 | 0.051 |
| Day 21 | 836.4 | 764.3 | 795.3 | 838.4 | 12.525 | 0.100 | 0.749 | 0.020 |
| ADG (g/bird) | ||||||||
| 0 to 7 days | 15.3 | 13.9 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 0.290 | 0.218 | 0.746 | 0.057 |
| 8 to 21 days | 49.5 | 45.0 | 46.9 | 49.6 | 0.801 | 0.123 | 0.761 | 0.025 |
| ADFI (g/bird) | ||||||||
| 0 to 7 days | 15.4 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 15.5 | 0.264 | 0.554 | 0.696 | 0.228 |
| 8 to 21 days | 67.5 ab | 63.6 a | 67.2 ab | 70.3 b | 0.877 | 0.048 | 0.125 | 0.036 |
| FCR | ||||||||
| 0 to 7 days | 1.00 | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.01 | 0.008 | 0.148 | 0.924 | 0.028 |
| 8 to 21 days | 1.37 | 1.42 | 1.44 | 1.42 | 0.012 | 0.189 | 0.084 | 0.167 |
* At 17.5 day of incubation, eggs were injected with 0.6 mL AKG solution with a concentration of 0% (0 AKG), 0.5% (0.5 AKG), 1.0% (1.0 AKG), and 1.5% (1.5 AKG). Chicks obtained from each treatment group at hatching were reared as per standard temperature and humidity guidelines. Data are presented as mean (n = 6) and pooled SEM values. a,b: means bearing different letters differ significantly in the same row (p < 0.05). Abbreviations: ADG, average daily gain; ADFI, average daily feed intake; BW, body weight; FCR, feed-conversion ratio; Lin, linear effect; Quad, quadratic effect.