Study of nutrient ileal digestibility of raw and fermented date pite and their effects on performance of broiler chickens

Two experiments were conducted to determine the nutrient ileal digestibility of raw date pit (RDP) and fermented date pit (FDP) as well as their effects on performance and some bloody traits in broiler chickens,. The first experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 72 male broiler chicks, three treatments and six replicates (four chicks each) . The treatments consisted of a corn – soybean diet and two experimental diets which prepared by replacing RDP and FDP to basal diet at 25 %. The second experiment was performed in a 2× 4 factorial arrangement along with a control treatment in completely randomized design in a population of 540 day old broiler chickens in nine treatments with five replicates (12 chicks each). Dietary treatments included a diet without date pit (control), and diets containing two, four, six and eight percent of RDP or FDP. The digestibility of crude protein, fiber and ash in the FDP were higher than RDP (p<0.05). Feeding broiler chickens with FDP compared to RDP, improved weight gain (2110.5 g vs 1991.3 g ) and increased feed intake (p<0.05). The blood cholesterol and LDL-c decreased in chickens fed by FDP compared to RDP (p<0.05). According to the results of this experiment fermentation of date pit increases digestibility of its nutrients and improves weight gain of broiler chickens.