Abstract
An experiment was conducted to study the effects of high dietary copper supplementation on the gastrointestinal tract morphology of broiler chickens. Eighty 3-week-old broiler chicks were divided randomly into eight groups of four dietary treatments and over three week were fed isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets that contained 0, 100, 250, or 500 mg/kg of supplemental copper from cupric sulfate. The copper supplementation in the broiler diet up to 250 mg/kg did not significantly influence broilers' performance. A high dietary copper supplementation of 500 mg/kg did significantly depress growth and feed conversion in the broilers (p<0.05). Copper supplementation more than 250 mg/kg in the broiler diet significantly influenced the morphology of the GI tract, as shown by severe oral lesions and gizzard erosion. It also significantly depressed the villi height and significantly thickened the muscular layer in the duodenum (p<0.05). The severely damaged villi were observed by scanning electronic microscope from the duodenum samples of broilers fed a 500 mg/kg copper supplemented diet. The 500 mg/kg copper supplemented diet also significantly influenced the plasma constituents. Plasma glucose concentration was significantly depressed (p<0.05).