The effects of supplemental iron and time periods on growth performance, chemical composition and meat quality of breast muscle in broilers

A 3×3 factorial arrangement of treatments consisting of 3 levels of supplemental Fe (0.0, 40 and 80 mg/kg) and 3 time periods (total, T: from 1-42 d; grower and finisher, GF: from 11-42 d and finisher, F: from 25-42 d) was used. A total of 450 one-day-old (Ross 308) male chicks were randomly assigned to nine dietary treatments with five replications of ten chicks per replicate. The results showed that dietary groups could decrease the average daily feed intake (ADFI) during T period (P 0.001). Also, supplementing diet with 80 mg/kg FeSO4 significantly (P 0.01) increased the Crude protein (CP) of breast muscle. Additionally, supplementation of 40 mg/kg FeSO4 during T and GF periods increased quadratically (P 0.001) the L* value of breast meat compared to F period. In addition, meat redness (a*) significantly (P 0.001) increased by adding of 80 mg/kg iron into broiler diet. Further, adding of 40 mg/kg FeSO4 significantly (P 0.05) increased pH value of breast meat during T period compared to adding 80 mg/kg FeSO4 at F period. These results indicated that supplementing broiler diet with 40 and 80 mg/kg FeSO4 could improve meat quality by affecting the L*, a* and pH values and the crude protein of breast muscle.