Calcium Nutrition of Broilers: Current Perspectives and Challenges
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Date
2023-05-09
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
Rights
(c) The author/s
CC BY
CC BY
Abstract
Calcium (Ca) plays an essential role in poultry nutrition as 99% of Ca is located in birds' skeletal system. However, oversupply of Ca rather than deficiency of Ca is the current concern in commercial broiler diets. Calcium is an inexpensive dietary nutrient due to the cheap and abundant availability of limestone, the major Ca source; therefore, little attention was given to the oversupply of Ca in the past. The recent shift in the use of digestible P in broiler feed formulations has necessitated a closer look at digestible Ca, as Ca and P are interrelated in their absorption and postabsorptive utilisation. In this context, data on ileal digestibility of Ca and P in ingredients has been determined. Preliminary data on the digestible Ca and digestible P requirements for the different growth stages of broilers have also recently become available. The present review focusses on these recent advances in Ca nutrition. In addition, aspects of homeostatic control mechanisms, different Ca sources and factors influencing Ca digestibility in poultry are covered.
Description
Keywords
calcium, ileal digestibility, limestone, phosphorous, requirement
Citation
David LS, Anwar MN, Abdollahi MR, Bedford MR, Ravindran V. (2023). Calcium Nutrition of Broilers: Current Perspectives and Challenges.. Animals (Basel). 13. 10. (pp. 1590-).