Brunelli et al., 2006. Rev. Bras. Zootec., 35 (4): 1349-1358

Two trials were carried out to evaluate the effects of feeding increasing levels of defatted corn germ meal (DCGM) to broilers. In trial I (determination of nutritional value by method of total excreta collection), 19-day-old broilers (n=120) were allotted to a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 4 replicates of 10 birds each. The treatments consisted of corn and soyabean meal based diets with increasing DCGM levels: 0, 20, and 40%. Mean values of coefficients of metabolism of DM, CF, CP, EE, and metabolizable energy adjusted for nitrogen balance were (as fed basis) 60.99%, 16.73%, 53.80%, 82.71%, and 2413 kcal/kg, respectively. In trial II (performance determination, 480 chicks, 4 days old), were assigned to a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 8 replicates (four of each sex) of 12 birds per treatment. The treatments consisted of corn and soyabean meal based diets with increasing DCGM levels: 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%. It was observed that DCGM increased the weight gain and feed intake of the birds, while decreased the feed:gain ratio. It is concluded that 20% DCGM is the optimum level for achieving the highest performance and with no changes on carcass traits of the broilers.