Effect of Boron Supplementation on the Performance and Metabolism of Minerals in Broiler Chicken

An experiment was conducted to ascertain the effect of graded level of boron supplementation on the performance and mineral metabolism in broiler chicken. A total of 240 day-old broiler chicks (Vencob) of mixed sex (avg. BW 47.50±0.26 g) were distributed in a completely randomized design into five treatments each with four replicates of 12 birds (6 of each sex). The dietary treatments involved supplementation of boron (as boric acid) at 0 (B-0), 25 (B-25), 50 (B-50), 75 (B-75) and 100 (B-100) mg/kg diet. The performance indices like BW, weekly BW gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded till 42 d of age. A metabolism trial was conducted at the end to determine the balance of select minerals. The performances of broilers in term of BW, FCR and FI were significantly higher (P<0.05) in B-25 followed by B-50, B-0, B-75 and B-100. Conversely, the FCR and BW were significantly affected (P<0.05) in B-100 among the treatment groups. The retention percentage of calcium and phosphorus were significantly higher (P<0.05) in B-25 and B-50 as compared to B-0 and that of manganese and iron were significantly higher (P<0.05) in B-0 among the dietary treatment groups. A decreased trend in retention of manganese and iron were observed with increased level of boron supplementation from 25 to 100 mg/kg diet. Based on the above results, it is concluded that supplementation of boron at 25 mg/kg in diet improved the performance indices of the broiler chicken.