Effect of Supplementation of Seaweed By-Products on Growth Performance for Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of hydrothermally processed (hydrolyzed) seaweed by-products (SP) derived from <i>Undaria pinnatifida</i> on the growth performance of broiler chickens. A standard pre-starter diet was provided from day 1 to 5. On day 5, a total of 100 birds were assigned to four dietary treatments with five replicate cages per treatment in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments consisted of a corn-soybean meal-based control diet (CON) and CON supplemented with SP at three levels (3%, 6%, or 9%). On day 15, body weight and feed leftovers were recorded to calculate body weight gain, feed intake, and gain-to-feed ratio. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS, with the cage considered as the experimental unit. Final body weight and body weight gain showed a tendency toward a significant quadratic response (<i>P</i>&lt;0.08) with increasing dietary SP levels, whereas feed intake was not affected by the dietary treatments (<i>P</i>&gt;0.08). In contrast, feed efficiency decreased linearly (<i>P</i>&lt;0.05) as the level of SP supplementation increased. In conclusion, the results of present study suggest that inclusion level of 3% SP may be considered appropriate for use in broiler diets from 5 to 15 days of age.