Indian Journal of Poultry Science

The present investigation was mainly focused on the bioavailability of phytate -phosphorus in the poultry feed using Aspergillus niger phytase. Twenty six weeks old, layer chicken (Gallus domesticus) were selected and randomly allocated to four dietary treatment groups with eight replicates each per treatment group. The birds were treated with three dosages such as 200U, 400U and 600U of phytase enzyme per Kg of diet. The enzyme showed 6–8% increase in the body weight and 4–5% increase in leg thickness when fed with 600U of enzyme/Kg diet. The overall egg quality showed an increase of 13.6% of weight and improved the shell thickness by 13–14% when the layers were fed with 400U and 600U of the enzyme respectively. Free phosphorus availability in control birds was found to be very low when compared to experimental birds. The total phosphorus excreted in the fecal matter was reduced to 14% with 600U of the enzyme and the amount of phosphorus utilized by the experimental birds was 20% more than the control birds.