Response of ROSS 308 Broiler Chickens (Gallus Domesticus) to Dietary Supplementation with Inorganic Copper.

A dose-response experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Copper (II) Sulphate (CuSO4) at 0, 62.5, 125, 187.5 and 250mg/kg on the growth performance, and carcass and meat quality of broilers (Ross 308). Forty-five 2-week old Ross broiler chicks with an initial average weight of 490±0.6g/bird were randomly assigned to 4 dietary treatments with three replicates of three chicks per treatment. Diets were fed over the grower day (14-35) and finisher day (35-49) phases.  Average daily water intake (ADWI), feed intake (ADFI), water to feed ratios (WFR), average daily gain (ADG), body weight (BW), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured from 14 to 49 days of age. The mean ADWI and WFR were significantly higher in birds fed a diet containing 250mg/kg CuSO4, while ADFI, ADG and BW were significantly higher in birds fed diets containing 125 mg/kg CuSO4 compared to the rest of the treatments (P<0.05). FCR, carcass and viscera weights, meat pH and colour were similar among the experimental diets (P > 0.05). In conclusion, supplementation with 125mg/kg CuSO4 was more efficacious than the rest of the treatments in promoting growth performance.