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Effect of Supplementation of Zinc-Methionine on Egg Production, Semen Quality, Reproductive Hormones, and Hatchability in Broiler Breeders

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Abstract

A biological study was conducted to explore the effect of zinc-methionine (Zn-Met) supplementation on productive, reproductive, and immunological response in broiler breeders. Adult healthy 45-week breeder males (192) and females (288) were used in a completely randomized design. Birds were randomly divided into four treatments consisting of six replicates and fed basal diet (control, 40 mg/kg), basal diet supplemented with Zn-Met 20 (T1), 40 (T2), and 60 mg/kg (T3). There was no effect (P > 0.05) on body weight and feed consumption among the breeders due to the supplementation of organic Zn. The T3 group had significantly (P < 0.05) higher semen volume, sperm motility, concentration, and live sperm count. The seminal plasma calcium and alkaline phosphatase activity were higher (P < 0.05), and total cholesterol and aspartate transaminase levels were low in the T3 group. Birds fed with additional supplementation of Zn (60 mg/kg) had improved both cellular and humoral immunity. Throughout the experimental period, the hen day egg production was comparable (P > 0.05) among the experimental groups. Organic Zn–supplemented group showed significant difference in both the internal and external egg qualities—albumen, yolk index, and shell thickness. The higher dose of organic Zn-fed groups had a significant difference in estrogen and progesterone concentration, and the highest testosterone concentration was observed in the T2 group. Supplementary organic Zn had a significant effect on the concentration of Zn and Cu in the seminal plasma. Serum Zn and Cu concentration was significantly increased due to the supplementation of organic zinc in both male and female breeders. The fertility and hatchability percentage were higher (P < 0.05) in the T2 group. It could be concluded that the additional supplementation of organic Zn (zinc-methionine) at 40 mg/kg to the basal diet improved the reproductive performance in broiler breeders.

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Data Availability

All the raw and analyzed data were available with the corresponding author, which will be shared on request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Director, ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar for providing necessary facilities to carry out the experiment.

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Author notes

  1. Govinthasamy Prabakar and Marappan Gopi contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Avian Physiology and Reproduction, ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar, 243122, India

    Govinthasamy Prabakar, Marappan Gopi, Gautham Kolluri, Jaydip Jaywant Rokade, Gautham Khillare, Beulah V. Pearlin, Jagbir Singh Tyagi & Jag Mohan

  2. Livestock Farm Complex, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Udumalpet, 642 126, India

    Govinthasamy Prabakar

  3. Animal Nutrition Division, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bengaluru, 560 030, India

    Marappan Gopi

  4. Division of Animal Nutrition, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, 243 122, India

    Sunil Ekanath Jadhav

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  1. Govinthasamy Prabakar
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  2. Marappan Gopi
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  3. Gautham Kolluri
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Contributions

Gopi, Tyagi, and Mohan conceptualized, formulated the study, and prepared the manuscript; Prabakar and Khillare carried out the biological experiment and collected the samples; Beulah and Jadhav were involved in sample processing; Rokade and Kolluri were involved in statistical analysis of experiment data and interpretation. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Marappan Gopi.

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All the procedures and protocols followed in the study were performed as per the guidelines of the Institute Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) and CPCSEA approval (No. CARI/IAEC/ab/4572).

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Prabakar, G., Gopi, M., Kolluri, G. et al. Effect of Supplementation of Zinc-Methionine on Egg Production, Semen Quality, Reproductive Hormones, and Hatchability in Broiler Breeders. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 4721–4730 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02590-9

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