Dietary inclusion of fibrous ingredients and bird type influence apparent ileal digestibility of nutrients and energy utilization

The interaction between inclusion of fibrous ingredients and bird type on the coefficient of apparent ileal digestibility (CAID) of nutrients and energy utilization was investigated in the current study. A 2 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments was utilized with 2 fiber contents (10.3 and 19.3 g/kg neutral detergent fiber) and 3 bird types (broilers, pullets and layers). The low-fiber diet was based on corn and soybean meal, and the high-fiber diet was developed by the inclusion of palm kernel meal, canola meal, and oat hulls. Titanium dioxide was used as an inert marker to calculate the CAID. The digesta were collected from the terminal ileum following the feeding of experimental diets for 7 d. Significant interactions (P < 0.05) between dietary fiber content and bird type were observed for the CAID of DM, starch, fat, neutral detergent fiber and energy, and AMEn. In general, the CAID coefficients were higher in broilers, intermediate in pullets, and lowest in layers at both fiber contents. The CAID of nutrients in the 3 bird types was higher (P < 0.05) in the high-fiber diet than in the low-fiber diet, but the magnitude of responses differed. Layers showed markedly higher digestibility responses to increased dietary fiber content compared to broilers and pullets. There were interactions (P < 0.05 to 0.001) between the dietary fiber content and bird type for the CAID of nitrogen and all amino acids, except for Asp and Lys. The CAID of Asp and Lys was highest (P < 0.05) in broilers, intermediate in pullets, and lowest digestibility in layers. The CAID coefficients of nitrogen and amino acid increased with increased fiber content, with distinctly greater responses in layers compared to broilers and pullets. Overall, layers showed greater digestibility of nutrients in response to the increased fiber content, suggesting that layers require high-dietary fiber contents to efficiently utilize nutrients compared to broilers and pullets.