Effects of adding acorns to diet on growth performance,slaughter performance,meat quality,and serum biochemical indices in broilers

ZOU Man; TANG Lianying; LI Yuchun; XU Jiaxiang; LI Qihua; YANG Qingran; LU Qiongfen

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2026.01.010

Abstract：This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of adding acorns to the diet on the growth performance,slaughter performance,meat quality,and serum biochemical indices in broilers.A total of 192 fourteen-day-old Arbor Acres(AA)broilers were randomly divided into four groups with six replicates per group and eight broilers per replicate.The control group(group A)was fed with a basic diet,while groups B,C,and D were respectively fed with diets supplemented with 3％,5％and 10％acorns,respectively.The pre-test period was seven days,and the formal test period was 21 days.The results showed that compared with group A,the final body weight(FBW)and average daily gain(ADG)were significantly reduced in group D(P＜0.05).The apparent metabolic ratios of crude ash(Ash)and phosphorus(P)were significantly decreased in groups B,C,and D(P＜0.05),while the apparent metabolic ratio of Ash in group B was significantly higher than that in group C(P＜0.05).There were no significant differences observed among groups for slaughter performance indices,immune organ indices,and tibia indices(P＞0.05).There were no significant differences in meat quality and conventional nutrient composition of breast and thigh muscles among groups(P＞0.05).In the breast muscle,compared with group A,the concentrations of essential amino acids,bitter-taste amino acids,sour-taste amino acids,and total amount of amino acids were significantly increased in groups B,C,and D(P＜0.05),the non-essential amino acids content was significantly increased in groups B and D(P＜0.05),and the umami-taste amino acids content was significantly increased in group B(P＜0.05).In the thigh muscle,compared with group A,the content of essential amino acids and total amount of amino acids were significantly increased in group B(P＜0.05),and the umami-taste amino acids content was significantly increased in group C(P＜0.05).Compared with group A,the serum concentrations of total protein(TP),albumin(ALB),and globulin(GLB)were significantly increased in groups B,C,and D(P＜0.05).The TP content in group D was significantly higher than that in group B(P＜0.05),and the GLB content was significantly higher than that in groups B and C(P＜0.05).The study shows that adding an appropriate proportion of acorns to the diet can increase the amino acid content in the pectoral and leg muscles of broilers and improve meat quality.Among them,an addition ratio of 3％is relatively appropriate.