The processing method used to create the meal affects the nutritional value of soybeans for birds. The most popular approach is solvent-extracted soybean meal (SE-SBM). However, extruded-expelled soybean meal (EE-SBM) is mainly utilized in organic poultry feed. This study aimed to investigate the effect of adding EE-SBM to broiler chicken Ross® 308 feed formulations on carcass traits and histomorphological changes in the intestine. A total of 198 one-day-old Ross® 308 chickens were randomly distributed into three groups with different dietary treatments (66 birds per group). The dietary treatments were as follows: D1, control (soybean meal 46%); D2, D1 + EE-SBM (50 kg starter, 100 kg grower, and 200 kg finisher/ton); and D3, D1 + EE-SBM (100 kg starter, 150 kg grower, and 250 kg finisher/ton). The study results showed that the addition of EE-SBM to broiler diets had no significant effect on carcass traits, but pancreas weight (%) increased significantly (P < 0.05) in D3 and D1. Moreover, the jejunum diameter increased significantly (P < 0.05) in D1. The intestinal morphological examination revealed that EE-SBM had a beneficial effect, significantly increasing villi length, width, crypt depth, and the number of goblet cells. Regarding return from the breast and thigh, D2 and D3 had a non-significant numerical increase over D1. In conclusion, adding EE-SBM to broiler diets can improve intestinal morphometry and does not negatively affect carcass characteristics.
Keywords | Broiler chicken, Carcass characteristics, Extruded-expelled soybean meal, Intestinal morphometry