Efecto del plasma deshidratado en la etapa de preinicio en la dieta de pollos de engorde sobre la respuesta inmune y morfometría de los órganos digestivos

Abstract

The increase in health challenges in poultry production has driven the search for more effective nutritional strategies. Animal plasma has gained interest due to its high content of albumins and globulins, which promote intestinal health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of spray-dried plasma (SDP) compared to soybean meal and poultry by product meal during the pre-starter phase in 777 one-day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks, with an average weight of 40 g ± 4, distributed into three experimental treatments in a completely randomized block design with 7 replicates, each containing 37 chicks. The treatments were: T1: vegetable-based diet, T2: 3% SDP, and T3: 5% poultry by-product meal. The study analyzed immune response to Newcastle and Gumboro viruses, morphometry of digestive organs (evaluating weight, length, relative weight, allometric growth, shape, and tonality), and histology of the small intestine (based on villus length, depth of Lieberkühn crypts, and goblet cells) at 0, 7, 14, 35, 42, and 49 days of age. The results indicated that no significant differences were observed in immune response or the general morphometry of the evaluated organs. However, T1 showed a significant effect in optimizing the development of the Bursa of Fabricius and the gizzard at day 14. In the histological analysis, T1 and T2 demonstrated improvements in villus length and crypt depth: T1 had a greater impact during the early days (7 and 14), while T2 was more effective in the later stages (35 and 42). Additionally, the number of goblet cells was significantly higher with T1 during the early days. In conclusion, the addition of SDP in the pre-starter diet of broiler chickens had positive effects specifically on the histology of the small intestine compared to T1 and T3. However, T2, based on soybean meal, showed greater uniformity across most of the studied variables, while T3, with poultry by-product meal, stood out for its cost-effectiveness. All diets ensured uniform and functional growth.