This work aimed to evaluate the performance, serum glycerol and litter moisture of 1300 male Cobb 500 chicks fed diets containing different levels and sources of glycerin. A 4x3+1 factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely randomized design was used, with four inclusion levels of three glycerine (crude soybean (GS), gross mixed (GM) and semipurified (GPUR)) on isonutrient diets and one control treatment without glycerin. The methods of Student-Newman-Keuls test and regression analysis were applied for sources and levels of glycerin, respectively; and Dunnett test for treatment. It was used four replicates and 25 chickens per pen. Feed intake was affected (P <0.05) by the sources of glycerin, and GM was the source that promoted lower consumption in birds, however, there was no difference in the treatments when compared to control. Also there was no significant difference in weight gain. An interaction of levels and sources of glycerine to the feed conversion was seen.GS had the best feed conversion with the inclusion of 50,35g; GM had a linear worsening with increasing addition of glycerin. There was an interaction for the concentration of serum glycerol in birds, obtaining linear increase in birds consuming the GS and GPUR, and linear decrease for GM. The gain of litter moisture was influenced by the sources of glycerin, with a lower humidity for GM. The glycerine studied may be included in diets for broiler chicks until 70,0g/kg, without harming animal performance.
poultry; performance; glycerol; litter moisture