Effect of dietary supplementation with copper sulfate or tribasic copper chloride on the growth performance, liver copper concentrations of broilers fed in floor pens, and stabilities of vitamin E and phytase in feeds.

An experiment was conducted using a total of 840, 1-day-old, Arbor Acres commercial male broilers to compare copper (Cu) sulfate and tribasic Cu chloride (TBCC, Cu(2)(OH)(3)Cl) as sources of supplemental Cu for broilers fed in floor pens. Chicks were randomly allotted to one of seven treatments for six replicate pens of 20 birds each, and were fed a basal corn-soybean meal diet (10.20 mg/kg Cu) supplemented with 0, 100, 150, or 200 mg/kg Cu from either Cu sulfate or TBCC for 21 days. Chicks fed 200 mg/kg Cu as TBCC had a higher (P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) than those consuming other diets. Liver Cu contents of broilers fed diets supplemented with TBCC were numerically lower (P > 0.05) than those of broilers fed diets supplemented with Cu sulfate. The vitamin E contents and the phytase activities in the feed fortified with TBCC were higher (P < 0.01) and numerically higher (P > 0.05) compared with those in the feeds fortified with Cu sulfate stored at room temperature, respectively. The vitamin E contents in liver and plasma of broilers fed diets supplemented with TBCC were higher (P < 0.05) than those of birds fed diets supplemented with Cu sulfate. This result indicates that TBCC is more effective than Cu sulfate in improving the growth of broilers fed in floor pens, and it is chemically less active than Cu sulfate in promoting the undesirable oxidation of vitamin E in feeds.