MJAS

Manuscript Details

Growth Performance, Carcass Composition and Alpha-Linolenic Acid Content of Ayam Saga Fed Different Dietary Sources

Mardhati, M.*, Farahiyah, I.J., Nurulhayati, A.B., Mohammad, F.R.H. and Siti Hajar, Z.

Livestock Science Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, 43400 Serdang, Selangor

Malaysian J. Anim. Sci. 2023 26(2): 54-62

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A feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of feeding different omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) sources on the growth performance and accumulation of alpha-linolenic acid content in the meat of Ayam Saga. The experiment was conducted between April to May 2022 at the poultry facility in MARDI Serdang using 90 male 7-week-old Ayam Saga. These birds were randomly assigned to 3 treatments of different sources of omega-3: 0% (control), flaxseed oil and flaxseed in a complete randomized design with 5 replications of 6 birds per treatment. They received feed and water ad-lib throughout the experiment. All feeds were formulated to be isocaloric (metabolizable energy - ~12 MJ/kg) and isonitrogenous (crude protein - ~19.0%). They were raised for 5 weeks and weighed every two weeks. Feed consumption was also recorded every 2 weeks. Results showed that the inclusion of omega sources did not affect final weight and weight gain compared to the control (P>0.05). However, treatments had a significant effect on the feed intake (P<0.01) and feed conversion ratio (P<0.01), with birds on diets containing flaxseed and flaxseed oil were lower than the control. The increment of alpha-linolenic acid was seen in the breast and thigh meat of birds which received omega-3 diets (P<0.01). It can be concluded that flaxseed and flaxseed oil can be good sources of alpha-linolenic acid, however, future studies need to be done to study the optimum inclusion level of flaxseed oil and flaxseed as these omega-3 diets have better FCR and increase the alpha-linolenic acid absorption in chicken meat.