Effects of selenium on metabolic processes in the body of ducklings and their productive qualities

Abstract

Today, indicators controlling poultry's mineral nutrition have significantly increased. However, the physiological need of various types and technological poultry groups for certain mineral elements that perform essential biochemical functions in the body has yet to be definitively established. This also applies to such an element as Selenium, which, according to modern classification, is recognized as an indispensable biotic ultramicroelement with a broad spectrum of biological action. The inclusion of Selenium in the composition of mixed feed for young poultry changes the direction of physiological and biochemical processes in the body and improves metabolism and, as a result, contributes to the increase in their live weight, viability, feed conversion, slaughter, and meat qualities, improvement of organoleptic indicators of meat, its amino acid composition, energy, and biological value. We conducted comprehensive scientific studies to deepen and expand modern ideas about the biological role of Selenium, its influence on the productive qualities, and internal indicators of ducklings in the postembryonic period of ontogenesis. One of the tasks was to study the causal relationship between the level of consumption of Selenium with feed by ducklings and the studied indicators. Experimental studies were conducted on ducklings of the Ukrainian white breed. Following existing standards, feeding ducklings daily to 56 days of age was carried out with complete mixed feeds, balanced in essential nutrients and biologically active substances. Ducklings of the first control group did not receive selenium supplementation in mixed feed. Poultry of experimental groups (2–4) was additionally injected with different amounts of Selenium, respectively, by 0.2 mg/kg, 0.4, and 0.6 mg/kg. When conducting a correlation analysis of the obtained experimental data, it was found that between the economically useful and interior features included in the analysis, there are different levels and directions of the relationship, which may vary depending on the level of selenium consumption by ducklings. A scheme of modeling the effect of Selenium on the ducklings’ organism raised for meat is proposed.