Efficacy of dimethylglycine as a feed additive to improve broiler production

Dimethylglycine (DMG) is a naturally occurring glycine derivative, which is useful as additive to broiler diets as it improves nutrient digestibility and reduces the development of broiler ascites syndrome. This study evaluated the efficacy of dietary DMG to enhance performance of broiler chickens. Three trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with 1 g Na DMG/kg on growth performance and carcass characteristics. In Trial 1, the effect of sex was also assessed in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments. In Trials 1 (Germany), 2 (Austria), and 3 (Italy), each treatment consisted of 6, 12, and 11 replicate pens with 20, 15, and 16 one-day-old broiler chickens per pen, respectively. Dietary DMG supplementation resulted in improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the starter phase by 8.8% (P=0.004), 6.4% (P=0.001), and 4.8% (P=0.006) compared with the control diet in Trials 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The overall FCR improved in broiler chickens fed the diets supplemented with DMG by 3.8% and 4.1% in Trials 1 (P=0.007) and 3 (P=0.006), respectively. In addition, final body weight increased by 5.5% (P=0.001) in Trial 2 and production value improved by 6.8% (P=0.015) in Trial 1 by dietary DMG supplementation. Mortality in all trials was similar between dietary treatments. In all 3 trials, cold carcass weight and total meat yield were as well similar between broiler chickens fed the control and DMG diets. In Trial 1, dietary DMG had no effect on breast meat yield in male broiler chickens, but it increased breast meat yield in female broiler chickens (diet×sex, P=0.004). Organoleptic quality of roasted breast meat assessed only in Trial 2 was not affected by dietary treatments. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of DMG at 1 g Na DMG/kg can considerably improve s production performance in broiler chickens.