Effect of the dietary inclusion of wine lees on productive performance and meat quality in broiler chickens

The dietary inclusion of agro-industrial by-products contributes to increase the sustainability of animal production system in view of a circular economy approach. Poultry production could greatly benefit from this approach because of actual production levels and expected increases at a world level. Out of the different byproducts, wine lees are a natural source of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, which can play antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties with beneficial effects on animal health and product quality. Thus, the present study aimed at evaluating the effect of the inclusion and level of wine lees on growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broiler chickens. To this purpose, a total of 450 broiler male chickens (Ross 308) were housed in 18 collective pens (25 birds/pen, 6 pens/experimental group) kept under thermoneutral conditions and fed either a control diet or the same diet added with 3% or 6% wine lees until commercial slaughtering (35 days of age). Results were analysed using a mixed model with diet as a fixed effect and pen as a random effect. The dietary inclusion of wine lees significantly reduced final body weight (2,270 g and 2,204 g vs. 2,086 g in chickens fed diets with 0% and 3% vs. diet with 6% wine lees; P < 0.001), because of the reduction in growth rate both during the first period (1-14 days; 42.4 vs. 41.2 vs. 39.0 g; P<0.001) and the second period (95.0 vs. 92.2 vs. 87.3 g; P<0.001), which corresponded to impaired feed conversion ratio (first period: 1.29 and 1.31 vs. 1.39; P<0.01; second period: 1.75 and 1.87 vs. 1.97; P < 0.01). Accordingly, slaughtering performance, as for carcass weight and breast yield, were the lowest in chickens fed 6% wine lees compared to the other chickens. Meat quality was not affected by the inclusion or level of wine lees, as for myopathy occurrence, rheological properties, chemical and nutritional composition, as well as antioxidant properties. In conclusion, under the conditions of the present study, the dietary inclusion of wine lees is feasible until 3% without negative effects on growth performance and until 6% without negative effects on meat quality. Acknowledgments: Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem (iNEST), European Union Next-GenerationEU (PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR)-MISSIONE 4 COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.5-D.D. 1058 23/06/2022, ECS00000043).