1. This study was conducted to determine the effects of different
dietary fat sources on growth performance, tibia
fatty acids and
biomarkers of bone metabolism in broilers. 2. One-d-old commercial Arbor Acres broilers were fed with a maize-soya bean basal diet for 42 d, supplemented with
oils according to the following 5 treatments:
lard (
lard group);
linseed oil (
linseed oil group);
palm oil (
palm oil group);
linseed oil +
palm oil (60:40 or 40:60 w/w, LP-1 group and LP-2 group, respectively). 3. No significant differences in
weight gain, feed intake and gain/feed ratio were observed between the
lard and
linseed oil groups. Birds fed on
palm oil had significantly greater
weight gain and feed intake than those fed on
lard or
linseed oil. Growth performance in LP-1 and LP-2 was significantly greater than that of single-oil groups. 4. Tibia growth and bone characteristics were not influenced by supplementation with
lard,
linseed oil, or
palm oil alone, but broilers fed on a mixture of
fats had significantly greater tibia weight and length compared to broilers fed on
linseed oil. Bone mineral density in tibia was significantly increased in LP-1 and LP-2 groups. 5. Supplementation of
linseed oil alone or in combination with
palm oil enhanced apparent digestibility of
calcium, reduced serum
calcium and increased tibia
calcium concentrations. Moreover, supplementation with
linseed oil alone or in combination with
palm oil had a positive effect on
biomarkers of bone growth. 6. The combination of linseed and palm
oils was beneficial for growth performance, tibia growth and
biomarkers of bone metabolism.