Phytase Supplementation of Four Non-Conventional Ingredients Instead of Corn Enhances Phosphorus Utilization in Yellow-Feathered Broilers

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The serious shortage of feedstuff resources is a prominent problem in the world today, and under the influence of the global food crisis, the price of ingredients has also increased. Due to the usable nutritional value and reasonable price of non-conventional ingredients, making full use of non-conventional ingredients is an important way to alleviate the shortage of feed resources, reduce the cost of livestock and poultry feeding, and improve economic efficiency. However, due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors in unconventional feed ingredients, existing studies suggest that supplementation with feed enzymes, including phytase and xylanase, can enhance feed utilization by eliminating anti-nutritional factors. By evaluating the nutritional composition and use-value of certain non-conventional feed ingredients, an application database can be established that can provide a reference for the extensive use of these resources. ABSTRACT: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of unconventional feedstuff such as wheat, broken rice, distillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS), and wheat bran, replacing 15% of the corn in the basal diet and the supplementation of bacterial phytase on nutrition digestibility. A total of 500 yellow-feathered broilers with similar body weights of 1.65 ± 0.15 kg were divided into 10 dietary treatments with 5 replicates per treatment (5 male and 5 females per cage). The AME and AIDE were significantly higher when supplied with phytase (p < 0.01) in the DDGS group. The ileal and total tract digestibility of calcium and phosphorus were significantly increased in the phytase-supplied group (p < 0.001). Additionally, the ileal digestibility of CP was increased when phytase was supplemented (p < 0.001). The results infer that the wheat, broken rice, DDGS, and wheat bran had no negative effect when replacing 15% corn. Supplementing 0.02% phytase in their diets can effectively optimize nutrient digestibility in yellow broilers.