A completely randomized design with six replicates of 30 birds per experimental unit was used to evaluate the effect of five fat sources of diets (soybean oil, poultry fat, acidulated soybean oil soapstock and a mix of soybean oil plus poultry fat and soybean oil plus acidulated soybean oil soapstock) on the performance of male Ross broilers, during the growing period (1-45 days of age). The diets for each phase were isonutritional. Broilers fed on soybean oil showed higher weight gain in comparison to the birds fed on diets containing acidulated soybean oil soapstock (P<0.05), but no differences were observed among the other treatments. The feed intake of birds fed on soybean oil was higher compared to the birds fed on acidulated soybean soapstock diet and mix of soybean oil plus acidulated soybean oil soapstock diet. No treatment effect was observed for feed:weight gain ratio and viability. Soybean oil diet resulted in better broiler performance in comparison to acidulated soybean oil soapstock diet.
broiler; performance; soybean oil; acidulated soybean; oil; poultry fat oil