# Dietary Sweet Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Inclusion in Geese: Impacts on Growth Performance, Blood Biochemistry, and Intestinal Health

## TL;DR

Adding sweet sorghum to geese diets improves feed intake and intestinal health without harming their blood chemistry or antioxidant levels.

## Contribution

This study evaluates the effects of sweet sorghum inclusion in geese diets, revealing its benefits on growth and intestinal morphology.

## Key findings

- Sweet sorghum increased average daily feed intake and feed/gain ratio in geese.
- Sweet sorghum improved duodenal and jejunal morphology without adverse effects on plasma biochemistry.
- An 8% sweet sorghum inclusion is recommended for optimal growth performance and intestinal health.

## Abstract

Sweet sorghum is a high-quality forage crop with multiple benefits, including strong tolerance to stress, photosynthetic efficiency, a large biomass, richness in nutrients, and good palatability. Sweet sorghum has very good prospects for development in China. Sweet sorghum increased the ADFI and F/G in geese from 28 to 70 days of age and improved their duodenal and jejunal morphology. Sweet sorghum has no negative effect on plasma biochemical parameters, antioxidant capacity, or duodenal digestive enzyme activity in geese.

This study investigated the effects of dietary sweet sorghum (SW) inclusion (0%, 4%, 8%, or 12%) on the growth performance, plasma biochemistry, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, and duodenal digestive enzyme activity of geese. A total of 144 male geese (28 days old) were randomly divided into four groups (36 birds/group; six replicates). Experimental diets were formulated to contain 0%, 4%, 8%, or 12% SW to replace corn. The geese’s body weight and feed intake were recorded at 49 and 70 days, with samples collected at 70 days. The results showed that as SW levels increased, the geese’s average daily gain decreased during days 28–49 (p < 0.05), while their average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed/gain ratio (F/G) increased during days 28–70 (p < 0.05). The cost of feed decreased with increasing SW levels, but the 12% SW group exhibited a higher feed cost/kg gain than the other groups (p < 0.05). The plasma biochemical parameters, antioxidant capacity, and duodenal digestive enzyme activity did not differ among the groups (p > 0.05). Geese fed 12% SW had higher duodenal villus heights than those in the 0% group (p < 0.05), and the jejunal muscularis thickness peaked in the 4% group (p < 0.05). The ileal morphology was unaffected (p > 0.05). SW increased the ADFI and F/G but had no adverse effects on plasma biochemistry, antioxidant status, or enzyme activity. Additionally, it improved duodenal and jejunal morphology. Based on the observed growth performance, feed cost/kg gain, and intestinal morphology, 8% dietary inclusion of SW is recommended.