Effect of dietary organic selenium on growth performance, antioxidant status and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken reared in the tropics

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary organic selenium inclusion on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, selenium retention and carcass characteristics in broiler chicken. Day-old broiler birds (160) were distributed randomly into four equal groups (T1, T2, T3 and T4) comprising of four replicated pens with ten birds in each. Different treatment groups of birds were designated as T1 (Basal diet without selenium-enriched yeast), T2 (Basal diet with 0.50 mg/kg selenium enriched yeast), T3 (Basal diet with 1.00 mg/kg\ selenium enriched yeast) and T4 (Basal diet with 1.50 mg/kg selenium enriched yeast) for 56 days. The results revealed that final body weight, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly enhanced for birds in T2 at both stages than other groups. T4 group showed highest glutathione peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase and selenium concentration with lower malondialdehyde concentration compared to birds receiving other treatments. Carcass traits such as live weight and dressed weight significantly improved in T2 whereas relative weights and lengths of organs increased as level of organic selenium increased. Therefore, it can be concluded that adding 1.50 mg/kg selenium yeast enhanced growth, oxidative status, selenium deposition, carcass and organ traits without having a negative impact on the birds’ physiological state.