Effects of diets supplemented with grass meal and sugar beet pulp meal on abdominal fat fatty acid profile and ceacal volatile fatty acid composition in geese

Two hundred and twenty-five unsexed day-old native Turkish goslings were divided at random into 3 groups, each with 5 subgroups consisting of 15 chicks. One of the groups was fed only starter (0-6 weeks) and grower (7-12 weeks) diets (Control) and complete parts of these diets were replaced with grass meal (GM Group) and dried sugar beet pulp meal (SBP Group) by 10 % at starter and by 20 % at grower period. After the sixth and twelfth weeks, 6 randomly selected geese from each subgroup, were slaughtered for determination of abdominal fatty acids compositions and ceacal volatile fatty acids concentration,,. The total saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) concentrations in the abdominal fat were not affected by the feeding regimes at the end of the 6 weeks, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) concentrations were higher in the GM and SBP groups than that of the control group. At the end of the 12 weeks, total SFA concentrations was higher in the GM and SBP groups than that of the control group, whereas the total MUFA concentrations was opposite, the total PUFA concentrations were higher in the GM group than that of other groups. The feeding regimes did not affect the concentrations of volatile fatty acids in the ceaca at the end of the 6 weeks, while acetic acid was higher and propionic acid was lower in the GM and SBP groups than that of control at the end of 12 weeks.