Location: Food Science and Market Quality and Handling Research Unit
Project Number: 6070-30600-002-005-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2026
End Date: Jun 30, 2027
Objective:
We aim to complete the following objectives:
(1) To formulate 5 isocaloric, isonitrogenous dietary treatments for each phase (starter, grower, and finisher): Treatment A-conventional control diet, Treatment B-2% whole in-shell high-oleic peanut diet, Treatment C-4% whole in-shell high-oleic peanut diet, Treatment D-2% peanut skin supplemented diet, Treatment E-4% peanut skin supplemented diet. Pelleted starter phase fed from 0 to 14 days formulated to have 3,000 kcal/kg and 23% crude protein. Pelleted grower phase fed from 14 to 28 days formulated to have 3,100 kcal/kg and 21% crude protein. Pelleted finisher phase fed from 28 to 42 days formulated to have 3,200 kcal/kg and 19% crude protein. All diets will be formulated to meet or exceed National Research Council (NRC) requirements for broilers (NRC, 1994).
2) To determine the effects of treatment A, B, C, D and E on broiler performance, broiler health, meat quality and meat nutrient composition in a 6-week feeding trial.
3) To statistically analyze and summarize all collected data for final reports and manuscript publication (s).
Approach:
Five experimental broiler diets will be formulated to meet and/or exceed NRC requirements for Ross 708 broilers at each phase (starter 0-14d, grower14 to 28d, finisher 28 – 42 d) using Concept 4 software. One ton of whole in-shell aflatoxin-free non-roasted high-oleic peanuts will be obtained and formed into peanut granules/crumbles using a Roller Mill at the NC State University Feed Mill. Peanut skins will be obtained from a local vendor and sorted to remove debris and subsequently ground using a Blixer Food Processor. Finished broiler diets will be manufactured for each phase using solvent extracted defatted soybean meal and #2 yellow corn supplemented with either 2% whole in-shell high-oleic peanut granules/crumbles (Treatment B), 4% whole in-shell high-oleic peanut granules/crumbles (Treatment C), 2% ground peanut skins (Treatment D), or 4% ground peanut skins (Treatment E) for comparison to a conventional soy/corn diet (Treatment A). All experimental diets will be analyzed for quality and proximate composition.
Seven hundred twenty male broiler (Ross 708) hatchlings will be randomly assigned to 5 treatments with 8 replicates per treatment (18 birds/rep) at the day of hatch. Each pen will be fed the assigned dietary treatment and provided water and feed freely for 6 weeks. Feeders and feed additions will be weighed to monitor feed consumption. At the onset of the study all birds will receive 23 hours of light, decreasing to 14L:10D after 7 days. Individual bird weights and feed intake by pen will be recorded weekly. Body and feed weights of daily mortality will be measured as it occurs in each pen so it can be used to adjust feed conversion ratio, and % mortality rate for each weekly observation period.
Birds will be housed in House 4 at the Chicken Education Unit, with negative pressure ventilation and a total of 40 floor pens. Each pen will have side walls at the bottom to prevent bird migration. Pens will have approximately 4 inches of litter on each floor pen. From day 1 to day 7, feed will be supplied on trays placed on the litter floor. Thereafter, diets will be provided in one tube-type feeder per pen. Standard floor pen management practices will be used throughout the experiment.
At 43 days, three broilers per replicate will be randomly selected for processing (24 birds per treatment, 120 total). Feed will be withdrawn 12 hours prior to processing. Standard procedures will be utilized to assess meat quality parameters (drip loss, cook loss, skin color, meat pH, and pectoral myopathies (wooden breast, white striping, and spaghetti muscle), and fatty acid analysis of breast meat samples. All data will be statistically analyzed in SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, 2013) for the analysis of variance at P < 0.05 significance level.