Effects of dietary fiber on growth performance, slaughter performance, serum biochemical parameters, and nutrient utilization in geese.

We investigated the effects of dietary fiber on growth performance, slaughter performance, serum biochemical parameters, and nutrient utilization in geese. A total of 468 one-day-old healthy male Yangzhou goslings with similar body weight were randomly divided into 3 groups with 6 replicates per group and 26 geese per replicate. The geese were then raised for 70 days on diets with a dietary fiber level of 2.5% (Group I), 6.1% (Group III), or 4.3% for d one to 28 and 6.1% for d 29 to 70 (Group II). The geese in Groups II and III had higher body weight, higher average daily gain, and lower ratio of feed to gain compared with those in Group I (P < 0.05 for each comparison). The geese in Groups II and III had greater body-size measurements (half-diving length, body length, keel length, and shank circumference), heavier viscera (heart, gizzard, proventriculus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and cecum), greater slaughter yield (semi-eviscerated carcass yield, eviscerated carcass yield, and breast yield), lower serum levels of alanine transaminase, uric acid, and blood urea nitrogen, and higher serum levels of glucose and high-density lipoprotein compared with those in Group I (P < 0.05 for each comparison). The geese in Groups II and III exhibited greater utilization of energy and crude protein compared with those in Group I (P < 0.05). Taken together, the results suggest that the low-fiber diet had negative effects on growth performance, slaughter performance, serum biochemical parameters, and nutrient utilization. As herbivorous poultry, geese depend on dietary fiber for normal performance. Dietary fiber is thus an essential nutrient for geese.