Effect of nano-selenium and different stocking densities on performance, carcass yield, meat quality, and feathering score of broilers

Effects of nano-selenium (nano-Se) and stocking density (SD) on growth performance, carcass yield, meat quality, and feathering score of broilers were investigated in this study. One-day-old 480 broiler chickens (45.3 +/- 2.4 g body weight) (Ross 308) were randomly divided into 4 treatments each comprising of 8 replicates. In the experiment, treatments consisted of a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of dietary Se form (inorganic or nano) and SD (low = 12 birds/m(2); LSD, and high = 18 birds/m(2); HSD). No interaction was noted between Se form and SD for any trait. Nano-Se had no effect on growth performance, however, HSD decreased the body weight gain (BWG) (P.0.05) and feed intake (FI) (P<0.001) while feed conversion ratio (FCR) was unaffected. Neither nano-Se nor HSD had any effect on the relative carcass, breast, and thigh yields. Nano-Se improved the water-holding capacity (WHC) of breast meat 72-hpost-mortem (P<0.05). However, pH, colour, and cooking loss of meat remained unaffected by Se form or SD. There were no differences between nano- or inorganic Se and LSD or HSD regarding feathering scores for back and wing. In conclusion, dietary nano-Se improved the WHC and had no significant effect on other parameters. In addition, HSD may negatively affect the growth performance.