Revealing the physical restrictions of caecal influx in broilers through the use of solid and soluble markers.

ABSTRACT: A promising strategy to support broiler health and performance in a sustainable way is the enhancement of microbial fibre fermentation in broilers. This fermentation mainly occurs in the caeca, but the actual particle size range that allows caecal influx has not yet been described. This study aimed to understand the physical limitations of caecal influx as a function of broiler age by using both solid and soluble markers. In the first trial, the caecal filter mechanism was studied by microscopically visualising the caecal entrance and measuring caecal lobe development and digesta particle size as a function of age (d 8-36) for 44 broilers (Ross 308) receiving a conventional wheat-based diet. In two consecutive trials, microcrystalline cellulose beads (100-700 μm) and a combination of fluor

SUBMITTER: Vanderghinste P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11930729 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature