Effect of maternal zinc supplementation on offsprings hatchability, growth performance and intestinal development in broiler chickens

Maternal diet plays a vital role in the development of the offspring and their post-hatch performance. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementary organic zinc to the basal diet of broiler breeder chickens on the bird's fertility, hatchability, production performance of the progenies and their intestinal morphological attributes. Broiler breeders (128) were grouped into four as control, fed basal diet containing 40 mg inorganic Zn/kg feed and groups of T1, T2 and T3 fed control diet with 20, 40 and 60 mg/kg organic Zn respectively, fed according to the breeder's nutrient specifications except zinc content. The organic zinc was supplemented as zinc-methionine. Group-wise fertility and hatchability of the breeder birds were determined. The group-wise hatched chicks were reared for 42 days to assess their production performance, intestinal length and histo-morphology including villi length, diameter, crypt depth and corresponding absorptive surface. The hatchability was higher in 40 and 60 mg/kg supplemented groups. The hatch weight (g) and post-hatch growth performance of chicks were similar (P > 0.05) among the groups and were not influenced by the level of organic zinc supplementation. However, the intestinal histo-morphological attributes (villi length, diameter and mucosal cells) showed significant (P < 0.05) improvement in chicks hatched from the breeder's fed with organic Zn supplemented (60 mg/kg of Zn) birds followed by 20, 40 mg and control group. The results indicated that the maternal zinc supplementation had positive impact on breeder's fertility, hatchability, and intestinal histo-morphological attributes of the offspring but not on the performance of the offspring's.