Effects of different levels of corn gluten feed on performance, immune responses, intestinal morphology and some blood parameters of broiler chickens

In order to evaluate the effect of different levels of corn gluten feed on performance, immune responses, intestinal morphology and some blood serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens, an experiment was conducted using 500 male Ross 308 broiler chickens in a completely randomized design with four treatments, five replicates and 25 birds per replication. The experimental treatments included levels  of zero (control), 2.5, 5 and 7.5 percent corn gluten feed in the diet which fed to broilers from 15 to 42 days of age. The results showed that dietary inclusion of corn gluten feed up to 7.5 percent had no significant effect on average weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratiocompared to control treatment. Also, jejunal morphological indices and blood biochemical parameters including triglyceride, cholesterol, albumin, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase concentrations, livability, European broiler index and feed cost per kg of weight gain were not affected by dietary treatments. Antibody titer in response to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) injection was higher in treatment containing 2.5 percent corn gluten feed comparing to other treatments (P<0.05). Based on the obtained results, corn gluten feed can be included in grower and finisher diets of broilers (15 to 42 days of age) up to level of 7.5 percent without any adverse effect on performance.