A performance assay was conducted to study the effects of dietary electrolyte balance (EB) and crude protein levels on deposition of collagenous protein (CP) and the non collagenous protein (NCP) in the broiler bone matrix femurs. The broilers were fed diets with 20.0 or 23.0% of CP combined with 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, or 350 Meq/kg of EB from 1 to 21 and from 22 to 42 days. The experiment was analysed as a completely randomised design with a factorial arrangement of treatments (eight levels of EB and two levels of PC) and four replications. The higher value of NCP deposition in the bone at 21 days and CP at 22 and 42 days was obtained with diets containing EB values from 150 to 200 Meq/kg. Effect of dietary protein level on CP and NCP at 21 days old was observed. There was no effect of EB and crude protein levels on NCP deposition at 42 days. Effect of EB level on the CP deposition in the femurs of broilers at 42 days old was noticed. The electrolyte balance affected bone protein deposition in young broilers.
bone matrix; bone tissue biochemistry; collagenous protein; non collagenous protein
