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Perham, KA, 2024. The use of bioavailable silicon as a feed supplement in poultry diets. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.
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Abstract
The global demand for poultry meat has led to intensive genetic selection for bird growth and performance. The resulting 400% increase in growth has caused detrimental damage to the welfare of these birds, with this study focusing on lameness and skeletal disorders. It has been understood since 1938 that there is a role for dietary silicon in supporting bone development and strength, with consequent research establishing the need for silicon supplementation in broiler bird nutrition. Research at Nottingham Trent University using a stable, monomeric and readily absorbed bioavailable novel silicon supplement has produced positive results regarding improving bone strength in broiler chicks as well as bird bodyweight up to day 21. The need for greater detail in terms of the commercial application of this supplement meant that the aims of this study were to; establish the optimal dietary inclusion level of the supplement, determine the effect of the use of the supplement on bioaccumulation in the breast meat and the health of footpads, determine if there was any effect of removing the stabilising citrate buffer on the efficacy of the supplement, establish if days 4 to 12 post-hatch were the optimal point of inclusion of the supplement, and finally evaluate the potential use of the supplement in layer hen diets.
A series of bird feed trials were conducted in order to explore these aims. The first was a 2x3 factorial study which compared the novel silicon supplement in two particle sizes and three different dose rates. The results showed that there was a significant effect of both increasing dose rate and larger particle size on bird performance, with 750mg/kg of feed between days 0-42 of the granular form being the recommended feed rate. Surprisingly, there was no effect of the supplement on bone strength in this study. The second study established the need for adding a citrate buffer to the supplement as a stabiliser by comparing the performance results of a control group, supplement with citrate group and a supplement without citrate treatment group. These results showed no effect of the use of the citrate buffer as per the initial supplement composition on bird performance or bone strength, but the use of the buffer did result in a higher quality of meat.
The third feed study established the optimal age of bird for the point of inclusion of the silicon supplement through removing the supplement from the diet at different time points throughout the study. There was a significant effect of the supplement on leg bone strength at days 7 and 35. The fourth and final study used layer hens as the animal model and assessed the effect of the supplement on skeletal integrity. The results of this study showed that there was also a significant effect of the silicon-based supplement on mature bones, as well as a significant positive effect on some egg quality parameters. There was no effect of the silicon supplement on either positive or negative bird behaviours. An unexpected result from this study was the significant effect of the use of the supplement on feather coverage, with this having positive implications for improving the welfare of layer hens.
To conclude this project, the optimal dietary delivery of this novel silicon supplement for broiler birds is 750mg/kg of feed in the granular form to allow for maximum absorption between days 0 and 7 and to allow for the supplement to reduce the incidence of lameness by increasing leg bone strength. There are some recommendations for further refining this supplement in order to optimise the commercial application, such as changing between the powder and granular form between the starter and grower phases to utilise the changing nature of the birds gut with age to further maximise absorption of the silicon supplement. The potential use of this supplement in layer hen systems should also be explored, for example whether eggs could be fortified with silicon through the use of this supplement.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Perham, K.A. |
| Contributors: | Name Role NTU ID ORCID |
| Date: | April 2024 |
| Rights: | This work is the intellectual property of the author, Katie Yates, and the industrial sponsor AB Vista. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights. |
| Divisions: | Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences |
| Record created by: | Jeremy Silvester |
| Date Added: | 21 Aug 2025 10:59 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Aug 2025 10:59 |
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54239 |
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