Abstract:
In order to study the effects of Perilla, chicory and Chinese cabbage on the growth performance and muscle quality of broilers, a total of 160 healthy K9 broilers aged 50 days with a weight of about 1 kg were randomly divided into four groups(control group, Perilla meal treatment group, chicory meal treatment group and Chinese cabbage meal treatment group) according to the principle of no significant difference in initial body weight. There were 40 birds in each group with four replicates and 10 birds in each replicate. The chickens in the control group were fed a basal diet only, and those in the Perilla meal treatment group were fed based diet supplemented with 3% Perilla meal. The chickens in the chicory meal treatment group were fed the based diet supplemented with 3% chicory meal. The chickens in the Chinese cabbage grass meal treatment group was fed the based diet supplemented with 3% Chinese cabbage grass meal. The pre-trial period lasted for seven days, and the formal trial period lasted for 90 days. Growth performance indexes(initial body weight, final body weight, average daily feed intake, average daily gain and ratio of feed to gain) and muscle quality indexes(cooking loss rate, shear force, meat color value and pH value) were determined. The results showed as follows: there was no significant difference in initial body weight among all groups(P>0.05); the final body weight, average daily feed intake and average daily gain in the chicory meal treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group, the Perilla meal treatment group and the Chinese cabbage meal treatment group(P<0.05), and average daily feed intake and average daily gain in the Perilla meal treatment group were significantly higher than those in the Chinese cabbage meal treatment group(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the ratio of feed to gain among all groups(P>0.05), but Perilla meal treatment group and chicory meal treatment group have a descreasing trend compared with the control group, and the ratio of feed to gain in the chicory meal treatment group was the lowest. The cooking loss rate in the chicory meal treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group, the Perilla meal treatment group and the Chinese cabbage meal treatment group(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between Perilla meal treatment group, Chinese cabbage meal treatment group and control group(P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the shear force in the Perilla meal treatment group was significantly decreased(P<0.05), while that in the chicory meal treatment group and the Chinese cabbage meal treatment group was decreased, but the difference was not significant(P>0.05). The flesh color in the Perilla meal and the chicory meal treatment groups was significantly higher than that in the Chinese cabbage meal treatment group and the control group(P<0.05), and the flesh color in the chicory meal treatment group was the highest. There was no significant difference in pH values among all groups(P>0.05). The results indicated that adding 3% Perilla meal and 3% chicory meal in the diet could improve the growth performance and muscle quality of broilers to a certain extent, and 3% chicory meal had the best effect.