Effects of Feed Forms of Diets on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits and Blood Parameters in Broiler Chickens

Subject Areas :

M. Navid-Talemi ¹ , H. Darmani-Kuhi ^{2 *} , S. Shahangian ³ , A. Safari ⁴

1 - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
2 - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
3 - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
4 - Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Received: 2025-01-28 Accepted : 2025-06-13 Published : 2025-06-30

Keywords: broiler chickens, feed form, growth performance, hematological parameters,

Abstract :

This study aimed to investigate the effects of feed form (mash, crumble, pellet, and extruded) on growth performance, carcass traits, and some blood parameters in broiler chickens. The experiment was conducted on 480 male broiler chickens of Ross 308 strain in a completely randomized design with 8 treatments and 5 replications from 1 to 42 days of age. Performance indices and mortality rates were evaluated. The results indicated that growth performance traits were influenced by the feed form, and a significant difference was observed in pellet feed during the rearing period (P<0.01). Chickens fed with extruded feed throughout the rearing period had a higher mean weight compared to other treatments, and those fed with crumbled feed in the starter diet and pellet feed in the grower and finisher diets had the highest thigh weight (P<0.05). The feed form did not have a significant effect on the relative weight of heart components (P>0.05). The highest value for gizzard weight was for chickens fed with pellet feed. In addition, a significant difference was found in abdominal fat in crumbled-fed chickens in the starter diet and extruded feed in the grower and finisher diets compared to the pellet feed treatment (P<0.01). In conclusion, the results showed that the per-formance of broiler chickens was affected by the feed form, and the use of extruded and pellet feeds, espe-cially throughout the entire period caused improvements in growth performance, carcass traits, and blood parameters.