Influence of Dietary Methionine, Folic Acid and Cyanocobalamin and Their Interactions on the Performance of Broiler Breeder

Abstract

Objective: The experiment was conducted to examine the response of the local broiler female line (Cairo B-2), a new strain of the native Egyptian breed White Baladi chicken females which crossed with Arbor Acres grandparent female line males, to certain dietary nutrients including methionine (Meth), folic acid (FA) and vitamin B₁₂. Methodology: The experiment was designed in a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement from 53-64 weeks of age. Seventy two females and twenty four males were randomly assigned to 8 groups of 9 hens and 3 roosters in 3 replicates each. The birds were housed individually and artificially inseminated with pooled semen every 4 weeks. Results: The results indicated that feeding diet containing 0.25% Meth, 13.0 mg kg^–1 FA and 0.15 mg kg^–1 B₁₂ showed the best egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, hatchability and 1 day old chick weight followed by the diet containing 0.25% Meth, 13.0 mg kg^–1 FA and 0.03 mg kg^–1 vitamin B₁₂. Neither egg quality parameters nor blood parameters were significantly affected by either levels of Meth, FA or B₁₂ or their interactions, except for Haugh units and hemoglobin (p<0.05). The high level of FA improved Haugh units, while the high level of Meth improved hemoglobin. Conclusion: The best productive and reproductive performance were obtained when Cairo B-2 broiler breeders were fed the diet containing 0.25% Meth, 13.0 mg kg^–1 FA and either 0.03 or 0.15 mg kg^–1 vitamin B₁₂.