Does the Type of Cereal Grain in Broiler Diets Affect the Susceptibility to Ascites Syndrome?

An experiment was conducted to address the relationship between the types of cereal grain and ascites syndrome in broiler chickens raised in a high-altitude region. A number of 252 one-day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500 strain) were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments including a corn-soybean diet (corn diet), a wheat-soybean diet (wheat diet), and a barley-soybean diet (barley diet). Chicks were kept on experimental diets for 42 days, during which growth performance and carcass traits were assessed, and blood samples collected. Results indicated that corn substitution with wheat and barley significantly suppressed feed intake, growth rate, and lipogenesis as reflected in lower serum cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and abdominal fat deposition (P = 0.0001). Feeding barley resulted in down-regulation of TLR2 and GLUT2 genes but caused an up-regulation of FABP2 gene in jejunum as compared to the corn control. Feeding wheat and barley did not significantly affect the relative weights of the heart, and the right to total ventricular weight ratio (RV/TV). Mortality from ascites was not significant among treatment groups. In conclusion, substituting corn for wheat or barley could impair broiler performance, but under the conditions of this experiment had no significant impact on susceptibility to ascites.