Replacing dietary sodium selenite with a lower level of hydroxy-selenomethionine improves the performance of broiler breeders and their progeny

Figures & data

Table 1. Breeder trial: composition of the basal diet.

Ingredients, % (as fed basis)	Basal diet (56–65 weeks of age)
Corn	63.810
Soybean meal	22.920
Wheat bran	3.120
Soybean oil	1.440
Dicalcium phosphate	1.060
Vitamin premix^1	0.100
Mineral premix^2^,3	0.100
Salt	0.410
L-Lysine HCl, 78.4% ^4	0.060
Limestone	6.980
Calculated composition
Metabolizable energy, kcal/kg	2820
Crude protein, %	16.500
Crude fat, %	4.170
Digestible Lysine, %	0.770
Calcium, %	3.200
Available phosphorus, %	0.450
Analysed composition
Crude protein, %	17.790
Crude fat, %	3.850
Calcium, %	3.250
Total phosphorus, %	0.610
Selenium, mg/kg	0.035

¹Vitamin premix provided per kg of diet: Vitamin A(min.) 9000 U.I./kg; Vitamin D3(min.)2600U.I./kg; Vitamin E(min.)14U.I./kg; Vitamin K3(min.)1.6U.I./kg; Vitamin B1(min.) 2.2 mg/kg; Vitamin B2(min.) 6 mg/kg; Vitamin B6(min.)3mg/kg; Vitamin B12(min.)10mcg/kg; Nicotidic acid(min.)0.03g/kg; Pantothenic acid(min.) 0.005 g/kg; Folic acid(min.) 0.6 mg/kg; Biotin(min.)0.1 mg/kg

²Mineral premix provided per kg of diet: Zn (ZnO) 0.126 g; Cu (CuSO₄) 0.0126 g; I (Ca(IO₃)₂) 2.52 mg; Fe (FeSO₄) 0.105 g; Mn (M_nSO₄) 0.126 g;

³The Se in the mineral premix was provided as sodium selenite (4.5% Se) – 0.0067 g; or as Hydroxy-selenomethionine (Selisseo 2%) – 0.01 g.

⁴Hydrochloride.

Table 2. Experiment design: completely randomised 2 × 2 factorial design.

	Selenium supplementation
Breeder diets	SS-0.3 mg Se/kg		OH-SeMet 0.2 mg Se/kg
Progeny diets	SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	OH-SeMet 0.2 mg Se/kg	SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	OH-SeMet 0.2 mg Se/kg

SS: Sodium selenite; OH-SeMet: hydroxy-selenomethionine.

Table 3. Progeny trial: composition of the basal diets.

Ingredients, % (as fed basis)	Initial	Grower	Final
	(1–21 days)	(21–35 days)	(35–41 days)
Corn	61.790	63.980	67.620
Soybean meal	33.240	31.120	27.390
Dicalcium phosphate	1.690	1.390	1.160
Soybean oil	1.000	1.460	1.880
Limestone	0.900	0.820	0.770
Salt	0.440	0.420	0.400
L-Lysine HCl, 78.4%	0.330	0.270	0.280
DL-Methionine, 99%	0.310	0.270	0.240
Vitamin premix^1	0.050	0.050	0.050
Mineral premix^2^,3	0.100	0.100	0.100
Threonine	0.110	0.080	0.070
Anticoccidial drug	0.040	0.042	0.042
Calculated composition
Metabolizable energy,  kcal/kg	2986	3050	3125
Crude protein, %	21.000	20.150	18.750
Crude fat, %	3.720	4.230	4.720
Digestible lysine, %	1.220	1.126	1.044
Calcium, %	0.890	0.817	0.762
Total phosphorus, %	0.650	0.500	0.540
Available phosphorus, %	0.425	0.367	0.320
Analysed composition
Crude protein, %	22.500	21.640	20.550
Crude fat, %	5.040	5.480	5.960
Calcium, %	0.840	0.960	0.790
Total phosphorus, %	0.730	0.660	0.580
Selenium, mg/kg	0.069	0.079	0.079

¹Vitamin premix provided per kg of diet: Vitamin A(min.) 6000 U.I./kg; Vitamin D3(min.) 2000 U.I./kg; Vitamin E(min.)10U.I./kg; Vitamin K3(min.)1.6U.I./kg; Vitamin B1(min.) 1.4 mg/kg; Vitamin B2(min.) 4 mg/kg; Vitamin B6(min.)2mg/kg; Vitamin B12(min.)10mcg/kg; Niacin(min.)0.03g/kg; Pantothenic Acid (min.) 0.011 g/kg; Folic acid (min.) 0.6 mg/kg.

²Mineral premix provided per kg of diet: Zn (ZnO) 0.126 g; Cu (CuSO₄) 0.0126 g; I (Ca (IO₃)₂) 2.52 mg; Fe (FeSO₄) 0.105 g; Mn (M_nSO₄) 0.126 g;

³The Se in mineral premix was provided as sodium selenite (4.5% Se) – 0.0067 g; or as hydroxy-selenomethionine (Selisseo 2%) – 0.01 g.

HCL: Hydrochloride.

Table 4. Effect of SS or OH-SeMet on the performance of the broiler breeders.

Se source	Egg production, %	Egg weight, g	Egg mass, g	FCR¹ per dozen eggs	FCR per egg mass
56–60 weeks weeks
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	57.130	73.260	41.830	3.490	3.970
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	62.830	71.210	44.760	3.060	3.588
SEM²	1.390	0.459	1.029	0.096	0.106
p-value	.038	.024	.157	.024	.071
61–65 weeks weeks
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	50.430	72.000	36.350	3.883	4.510
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	55.940	69.600	38.950	3.452	4.140
SEM	1.380	0.437	0.996	0.111	0.134
p-value	0.044	0.005	0.195	0.051	0.169

SS: Sodium selenite; OH-SeMet: hydroxy-selenomethionine.

¹Feed conversion ratio.

²Standard error of the mean.

Table 5. Effect of SS or OH-SeMet on the egg quality characteristics.

Se source	Albumen height, mm	Haugh unit	Eggshell strength, kgf	Eggshell thickness, mm
55–60 weeks weeks
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	6.070	71.430	3.310	0.410
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	6.010	71.680	3.510	0.414
SEM¹	0.094	0.855	0.056	0.003
p-value	.757	.886	.083	.539
61–65 weeks weeks
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	5.770	69.260	3.240	0.408
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	5.450	67.590	3.540	0.417
SEM	0.090	0.838	0.073	0.003
p-value	0.081	0.323	0.041	0.158

SS: Sodium selenite; OH-SeMet: hydroxy-selenomethionine.

¹Standard error of the mean.

Table 6. Effect of SS or OH-SeMet on the Se concentration (mg Se/kg, on a dry matter basis) in the albumen, yolk and whole eggs of 65-week-old broiler breeders.

Se source	Egg white	Egg yolk	Whole egg¹
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	0.358	0.516	0.874
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	1.182	0.438	1.620
SEM^2	0.108	0.019	0.098
p-value	<.001	.300	<.001

SS: Sodium selenite; OH-SeMet: hydroxy-selenomethionine.

¹Sum of the Se concentration in the egg albumen and yolk.

² Standard error of the mean.

Table 7. Effect of SS or OH-SeMet on hatchability (Hatch.), fertility (Fert.), embryonic mortality (EM) and pipped and contaminated eggs (Cont.) from 65-week-old broiler breeders.

Se sources	Hatch, %	Fert, %	EM, %			Pipped eggs, %	Cont. eggs, %
			Ini.²	Interm.³	Fin.^4
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	69.760	91.670	6.780	0.690	7.200	2.680	1.360
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	79.390	94.100	6.710	0.910	3.590	2.480	0.600
SEM¹	2.540	6.610	1.040	0.420	1.110	0.830	0.450
p-value	.011	.193	.993	.678	.226	.238	.608

SS: Sodium selenite; OH-SeMet: hydroxy-selenomethionine; Hatch: hatchability; Fert: fertility; EM: embryonic mortality; Cont: contaminated

¹Standard error of the mean.

²Initial

³Intermediate

⁴Final

Table 8. Effects of dietary Se source, SS or OH-SeMet, in the breeder or/and progeny diet on the performance of the broilers.

	1–7 days			1–21 days			1–41 days
Se source	FI, g	BWG, g	FCR, g/g	FI,g	BWG, g	FCR, g/g	FI, g	BWG, g	FCR, g/g
Broiler breeder/progeny
SS/OH-SeMet	160	148	1.089	1085	884	1.229	4830	2608	1.855
SS/SS	157	147	1.078	1063	868	1.225	4593	2609	1.766
OH-SeMet/SS	156	146	1.073	1068	890	1.201	4582	2664	1.724
OH-SeMet/OH-SeMet	158	152	1.047	1085	895	1.212	4561	2643	1.728
Broiler breeder
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	159	148	1.084	1074	876	1.227	4711	2608	1.810
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	157	149	1.060	1077	892	1.206	4572	2654	1.726
Progeny
SS-0.3 mg Se/kg	158	148	1.081	1077	887	1.215	4706	2636	1.789
OH-SeMet-0.2 mg Se/kg	158	149	1.063	1074	881	1.219	4577	2626	1.747
SEM¹	1.200	1.830	0.010	6.540	4.430	0.010	41.750	20.130	0.020
p-value
Broiler Breeder	.491	.735	.442	.866	.063	.032	.088	.273	.017
Progeny	.754	.616	.546	.839	.530	.703	.115	.809	.217
Interaction	.333	.385	.793	.145	.225	.426	.183	.794	.178

SS: Sodium selenite; OH-SeMet: hydroxy-selenomethionine; FI: feed intake; BWG: body weight gain; FCR: feed conversion ratio.

¹Standard error of the mean.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [CSSA], upon reasonable request.