Dietary Green Seaweed Compromises Overall Feed Conversion Efficiency but not Blood Parameters and Meat Quality and Stability in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Using seaweeds as sources of nutrients and beneficial bioactive compounds can promote sustainable production of functional poultry products. This study investigated the physiological and meat quality responses of Cobb 500 broiler chickens to graded levels of green seaweed (Ulva sp.) meal (SWM). Three hundred, two-week-old male chicks (159.3 ± 11.76 g live-weight) were randomly assigned to five diets formulated by diluting a standard broiler diet with SWM at 0 (SW0), 20 (SW20), 25 (SW25), 30 (SW30) and 35 g/kg (SW35). There were neither linear nor quadratic trends (p > 0.05) for overall feed intake, overall growth performance and carcass and meat quality traits. Overall feed conversion efficiency (R2 = 0.192, p = 0.018) and spleen weights (R2 = 0.182; p = 0.020) linearly declined as SWM levels increased. Linear and quadratic responses (p > 0.05) were observed for lymphocytes. There were linear effects for meat pH except on day 7 of storage. Meat lightness (L*) linearly increased whereas meat redness (a*) quadratically responded to SWM levels (day 3 of storage). While an optimum inclusion level could not be established for seaweed based on growth performance, improvements in some meat shelf life indicators were observed in the broilers reared on seaweed-containing diets.