Effects of supplemental zinc source and level on growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broilers.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplemental Zn on growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broilers. Dietary treatments included the corn-soybean meal-based diet (control) and the basal diet supplemented with 60, 120, or 180 mg of Zn/kg as ZnSO(4), Zn amino acid A, Zn proteinate B, or Zn proteinate A. The results showed that birds fed diets supplemented with Zn had higher ADFI, ADG, and percentage of eviscerated yield than birds fed the control diet. Supplemental Zn significantly increased the redness value in breast muscle and pH values in thigh muscle, decreased shear force in thigh muscle, and decreased drip loss in breast and thigh muscle. The DM and intramuscular fat contents of the breast muscle in broilers fed diets with supplemental Zn were higher than those of the control. Results from this study indicated that Zn could promote growth and improve production performance of broilers independent of Zn source.