Níveis de manganês complexado a aminoácidos na dieta de poedeiras comerciais em fase de cria: indicadores de bem-estar animal.

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the effects of manganese inclusion levels complexed with amino acids in the diet of commercial laying hens during the brooding phase on indicators of animal welfare. The research was developed at the Departamento de Zootecnia of the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. The experiment had 648 Dekalb White chicks distributed in a completely randomized design in six treatments, with six replications of 18 hens each. The provided diets had different levels of inclusion of manganese mineral complexes to amino acids of 25, 37, 49, 61, 73 and 85 mg/kg. Welfare indicators were evaluated at 35 days in 18 hens per replicate. The lesions on the keel, skin and comb, footpad and plumage condition were evaluated. The data obtained were submitted to the chi-square test or G test in the BioEstat 5.3 software, using a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05), and presented in the results in percentage frequency (%). It was found that there was no effect of the levels of inclusion of manganese complexes to amino acids on some indicators, such as keel injuries, crest and footpad injuries and condition and damage to the plumage, which indicated that the supplementation level of 25 mg/ kg can be applied to diets with phytase inclusion, without harming the welfare of laying hens in the brood phase. However, it was found that for better skin integrity, the inclusion of the 85 mg/kg level of manganese complexed to amino acids is recommended.