A 6-week study was conducted to determine the bone morphology and tibia-breaking strength of broiler chicken managed on different housing systems fed diets containing Piper guineense leaf and seed. For 3 weeks, 288-day-old broiler chicks were brooded; they were then assigned into treatment in 2-by-4 experimental layouts, which comprised two housing systems (deep litter and battery cage) with dietary inclusion levels of Piper guineense leaves and seeds (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5%) in a 2:1 ratio of leaves and seed. Hence, the birds were divided into 8 treatment groups of 4 replicates, with 9 birds per replicates and a total of 36 birds per treatment. Birds on treatment 1 were reared on battery cage housing system-fed diets without Piper guineese, while those on treatments 2, 3 and 4 were fed ration containing Piper guineese at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% inclusion levels, respectively. Birds assigned to treatments 5, 6, 7 and 8 were managed in a deep litter housing system, with dietary inclusion levels of 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%, respectively. Two birds per replicate group were then selected and killed. The left tibia bone was collected for tibia bone morphology and breaking strength. Data were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance. The significant treatment means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test. The results of this study revealed that most of the tibia bone morphological parameters were not influenced by the housing type except for diaphysis diameter; we found wider diaphysis diameters obtained in birds of the deep litter housing type. Wet tibia, dry tibia weight, diaphysis and tibia index were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the dietary inclusion levels. The interaction between the housing type and dietary inclusion levels significantly influenced all parameters of the tibia bone characteristics except tibia robusticity. It can be concluded that for a better bone quality, broiler birds should be managed in the deep litter housing type and fed diets with no more than 1% Piper guineese.
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BONE MORPHOLOGY AND TIBIA-BREAKING STRENGTH OF BROILER CHICKENS MANAGED ON DIFFERENT HOUSING SYSTEMS FED DIETS CONTAINING Piper guineense LEAF AND SEED
Published:
12 March 2026
by MDPI
in The 4th International Online Conference on Animals
session Sustainable Animal Nutrition
Abstract:
Keywords: Piper guineese, broiler chicken, housing systems, deep litter, battery cage