Epigenetic effects of selenium and vitamin E supplementation in broiler breeder diets on the performance of their progeny

Nutritional supplements have been commonly used in the poultry industry last few years. The study aimed to investigate the epigenetic effects of adding vitamin E and organic selenium to the diet of broiler breeders Ross-308 on their progeny meat production performance. The treatments included the control group fed with a standard diet without supplementation (T1), T2 using a standard diet supplemented with 500 mg of vitamin E / kg, T3 using a standard diet supplemented with 0.5 mg of organic selenium (Availa powder) /kg, and T4 using a standard diet supplemented with a mixture of vitamin E and organic selenium in proportions 500 and 0.5 mg/kg respectively. The eggs were collected from each treatment to obtain the progeny reared for 35 periods, and measurements were recorded for meat production and carcass traits. The results showed that the treatments had significant epigenetic effects on body weight at hatching. Hence, T2 had a significantly heavier body weight than T1, while no significant differences were observed between T3 and T4. The result of T2 recorded extremely high feed intake compared with T3. On the other hand, T3 and T4 recorded a hefty weight of breast parts compared with T1 and T2.
 
In conclusion, organic selenium supplementation led to a significant increase in breast weight and a decrease in thigh part weight compared to the control group. In contrast, vitamin E supplementation led to an increase in chick weight at hatch, a reduction of total mortality and an improvement in feed conversion ratio compared to the control group. This refers to the epigenetic effects of organic selenium and vitamin E on progeny traits when added to the breeder diet.
 
Keywords: Epigenetics, broiler, selenium supplementation, meat production