Distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in feed for broilers (22-42 days)

The aim of this study was to determine nutritional composition and energy, and ileal digestibility of amino acids, in distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS), in addition to evaluating the effect of the use of this residue on the performance and carcass yield of broilers from 22 to 42 days of age. In the first experiment, 48 male Cobb birds, 21 days old, with an average weight of 932 g +/- 45g, were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design (CRD), with two treatments, six replicates and four birds per experimental unit. In the second experiment (amino acid digestibility), 12 cecectomized Leghorn roosters, with an average weight of 1,912.1 +/- 133.73 g, were distributed in a CRD, with one type of test food (DDGS), six replications and one rooster per experimental unit. Finally, performance and carcass yield were evaluated in Cobb Slow broilers from 22 to 42 days, using 900 chickens with an initial weight of 972.50 +/- 25.79 g, distributed in a CRD, in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, giving a total of 10 treatments (male and female x 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% addition of DDGS), with five replicates per treatment. The values for apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn) were 2,461 and 2,282 kcal kg(-1) respectively. Adding levels of 5% to 20% DDGS to the feed promotes reductions in performance and carcass yield in male and female broilers, as well as a higher deposition of abdominal fat in females.