Dietary oyster mushroom spent substrate in broiler diets enhanced bone and meat quality and minimally compromised growth performance without significantly affecting carcass traits, visceral organs, and health

This study evaluated the effects of dietary oyster mushroom spent substrate (OMSS) on growth performance, carcass traits, haemato-biochemistry, bone quality and meat characteristics in broiler chickens. Four hundred Cobb 500 chicks were assigned to diets containing 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5 or 10% OMSS, with eight replicates of 10 birds in a completely randomized design. Dietary OMSS reduced feed intake, body weight gain, slaughter weight, and intestinal lengths but increased gizzard weight (P < 0.05). Feed conversion efficiency, carcass traits, visceral organs and most haemato-biochemical parameters were unaffected, although white blood cell counts increased and serum cholesterol decreased (P < 0.05). OMSS increased bone breaking strength and mineral concentrations and improved meat quality by reducing lightness and cooking loss while increasing pH, redness and chroma (P <0.05). Overall, OMSS enhanced bone and meat quality but compromised growth performance without adversely affecting carcass characteristics or overall health status .