ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate
the effects of dietary supplemental Zn on growth
performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broilers.
Dietary treatments included the corn–soybean
meal-based diet (control) and the basal diet supplemented
with 60, 120, or 180 mg of Zn/kg as ZnSO4, Zn
amino acid A, Zn proteinate B, or Zn proteinate A. The
results showed that birds fed diets supplemented with
Zn had higher ADFI, ADG, and percentage of eviscerated
yield than birds fed the control diet. Supplemental
Zn significantly increased the redness value in breast
muscle and pH values in thigh muscle, decreased shear
force in thigh muscle, and decreased drip loss in breast
and thigh muscle. The DM and intramuscular fat contents
of the breast muscle in broilers fed diets with
supplemental Zn were higher than those of the control.
Results from this study indicated that Zn could promote
growth and improve production performance of
broilers independent of Zn source.