GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION OF TRACE MINERALS IN THE BLOOD, SELECTED VISCERAL ORGANS AND PRIMAL CUTS OF BROILER CHICKENS FED DIET SUPPLEMENTED WITH ORGANIC TRACE MINERAL BLENDS

This experiment was carried out over a period of for 42 days using (120) unsexed one day old Arbor Acre broiler chicks to investigate the growth performance and concentration of trace minerals in the visceral organs, muscle and bone of broiler chickens fed diet supplemented with organic trace mineral blends. The birds were allotted into 4 dietary treatments with 3 replicates of 10 birds in each replicate. The Treatment 1 (T1) was the control with standard broiler ration and zinc, copper, manganese at Diet supplemented with Organic Trace Minerals at 50% below the manufacturer’s recommendation, Diet supplemented with Organic Trace Minerals at manufacturer’s recommendation, Diet supplement with Organic Trace Minerals at 50% above the manufacturer’s recommendation level respectively, were supplemented in the diet to form Treatments (T2, T3 and T4) in a Completely Randomized Design. Growth performance parameters including final body weight, total weight gain, daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), no mortality were recorded. At the end of the feeding trial, samples of blood, liver, lungs, breast muscle, thigh muscle, and tibia bone were collected for mineral concentration analysis using standard laboratory procedures. Results revealed that organic trace mineral blend supplementation significantly (P < 0.05) influenced both performance of birds and mineral deposition in the visceral organs. Birds fed (T₃) recorded the most favorable FCR (1.83) and competitive final body weight (1978 g), while high organic trace mineral blend supplementation (T₄) resulted in the highest concentrations of minerals in blood (29.10 mg/kg), liver (142.10 mg/kg), and thigh muscle (60.12 mg/kg). Conversely, bone mineral concentration was highest in the control group (57.55 mg/kg) and decreased with higher organic trace mineral blend inclusion, suggesting possible mineral redistribution or saturation effects. Breast muscle mineral concentration also declined with excessive supplementation, indicating that certain tissues may have an optimal mineral uptake threshold. Feed intake and daily weight gain remained statistically similar among treatments, and mortality was zero in all groups, indicating no adverse effects of organic trace mineral at the inclusion rates tested. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with organic trace mineral blend (T₃) had the most balanced outcome, maintaining high mineral retention in the visceral organs.