Klint McCafferty

Dietary protease supplementation has been observed to improve broiler growth performance and amino acid digestibility (Angel et al., 2011; Fru-Nji et al., 2011). Improvements in broiler energy utilisation have also been observed with supplemental protease (Sorbara, 2009; Freitas et al., 2011). These positive extra-proteinaceous effects may be influenced by age and diet type. In addition, these eff ...

Calcium is an important cation in chicken diets, being the most abundant element in the body of the chicken. Its functions include: mineralization of bones, blood clotting, enzyme activation, neuromuscular function, muscle contraction, and intracellular signaling. However, high dietary Ca is a limiting factor for phytase efficacy and the formation of insoluble Ca-phytate complexes decreases Ca and ...

Supplemental xylanase may be used in diet formulation to reduce diet cost, mitigate the antinutritive effects of arabinoxylans, increase energy utilization, and improve growth performance of broilers. Xylanase has been shown to partially depolymerize arabinoxylans, which can reduce intestinal viscosity, reduce nutrient encapsulation, and modulate the intestinal microflora of broilers (Choct et al. ...