The effects on tibia and faeces mineral levels of microbial phytase and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol supplementation to broiler chicken diets containing different levels of calcium

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of adding microbial phytase and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25-(OH)(2)D-3] to diets containing 1:1 or 1:2 proportions of Ca:total(t) P, on the levels of minerals in tibia and faeces. A total of 144 day-old male broiler chicks (ISA 220) were divided into six groups of eight chicks each. A 42-day experiment was repeated three times. The basal diet was supplemented with calcium, phosphorus, microbial phytase (0 and 600 PU/kg) and 1,25(OH)(2)D-3 (0 and 5 mug/kg). On the 3(rd) and 6(th) weeks of the experiment, the left tibia and faeces of the chicks were collected. In feed, tibia and faeces, the level of calcium was determined by colorimetry, phosphorus by spectrophotometry; manganese, copper and zinc using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer The differences between the mineral levels of the groups were found to be statistically, significant (p