Studying the effect of different levels of oil and pellet binders on jejunum morphology, performance and feed quality in broilers

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Published: May 18, 2026
Updated: 2026-05-18
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2026-05-18 (2)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/jhvms.39909
Keywords:
bentonite birds body weight feed processing pellet durability soybean oil
H Rostami-Rahvard
Department of Animal Science, Kash,C., Islamic Azad University, Kashmar, Iran
R Vakili
Department of Animal Science, Kash,C., Islamic Azad University, Kashmar, Iran
A Hesabi Nameghi
Department of Animal Science, Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Mashhad, Iran
M Norouzi Ebdalabadi
Department of Animal Science, Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Mashhad, Iran
Abstract

To assess the effect of different levels of soybean oil (SO: 1, 2%) and different types of pellet binders (sodium bentonite (SB), calcium lignosulfonate (Ca-Ls), and plant compounds (PC) on the pellet quality, and broilers’ performance, 480 one-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were assigned to eight treatments based on the completely randomized design. Treatments included: 1) 1% SO+1% SB (1-SB), 2) 1% SO+0.5 % Ca-Ls (1- Ca-Ls), 3) 1% SO+0.5% PC (1-PC), 4) 1% SO+ no pellet binder (1-None), 5) 2% SO+1% SB (2-SB), 6) 2% SO+0.5% Ca-Ls (2- Ca-Ls), 7) 2% SO+0.5% PC (2-PC), 8) 2% SO+ no pellet binder (2-None). The results showed that in the starter diet, 1-PC group had the most pellet durability index (PDI) (P<0.05). The PDI of the grower diets containing SB and PC was higher than others (P<0.05). The highest pellet hardness was observed in groups 1-SB, 1-PC, 2-SB, and 2-PC for starter diet (P<0.05). The pellet hardness in finisher diets containing SB and PC was higher (P<0.05). During the starter phase, the best feed conversion ratio was obtained in 1-SB (P<0.05). During the finisher phase, the lowest and highest daily feed intake was observed in groups 2-PC and 1-SB, respectively. During the finisher and whole phases, the most daily body weight gain was observed in SB group (P < 0.05). Sodium bentonite increased the villus height (VH) and VH to crypt depth (CD) ratio (P < 0.05). In general, diets containing SB and PC showed the highest PDI, and the presence of PC, despite the improvement of pellet quality, reduced the feed consumption of chickens in the finisher period. Moreover, SB improved some intestinal parameters.

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