Stability of dietary ascorbic acid and the effect of supplementation on reproductive performance of broiler breeder chickens

Abstract

1. The purpose of the study was to determine the stability of dietary ascorbic acid and the reproductive responses of broiler breeder chickens to supplemental 75 mg ascorbic acid/kg diet. 2. Six breeder flocks of 13 000 birds each were studied. Egg production, eggshell porosity, fertility, hatchability and plasma ascorbic acid were measured. 3. Storage of the diets under dry heat resulted in a linear decrease in ascorbic acid content and the rate of decline was 5-fold higher in the supplemented diet. 4. Differences were not detected between treatments in egg production, egg weight, eggshell porosity, fertility, hatchability or plasma ascorbic acid. 5. The results did not provide evidence of a beneficial reproductive response to the inclusion of ascorbic acid in commercial broiler breeder diets.