Effect of Putrescine Inoculation In Ovo on Hatchability, Hepatic and Muscular Glycogen Reserve, Intestinal Morphology, and Performance of Broilers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the inoculation of nutrient solutions with increasing levels of putrescine on the hatchability, physiology, and performance of broilers during the initial phase. The study is composed of four treatments with increasing doses of putrescine (0.015; 0.030; 0.060, and 0.090%) and a control group. At hatch, hatchability rate; ratio between egg weight and chick weight; ratio between yolk sac, liver, breast and intestine weight, and chick weight; glycogen concentration in the liver and breast; and morphometric characteristics of the jejunum and ileum were evaluated. After hatch, 400 birds were housed in metabolic cages according to the treatments received, and feed intake, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were assessed at specific time points. Hatchability, chick performance at hatch, and organ weight were not affected by the inoculation of increasing levels of putrescine. Intestinal villi at hatch were higher in groups supplemented with putrescine (<i>p</i> < 0.001). The amounts of hepatic glycogen per gram of tissue at hatch were higher in groups with the lowest levels of putrescine and decreased with increasing doses (<i>p</i> = 0.017). Growth performance from 1 to 21 days was not influenced by the inoculation of putrescine.