The Effect of Moisture Addition with a Mold Inhibitor on Pellet Quality, Feed Manufacture, and Broiler Performance

Three different inclusion levels of a moisture-mold inhibitor mixture (0, 1, and 2%) were added to corn- and soybean-based diets at the mixer as top-dressing additions, and diets were processed at a commercial and a pilot milling facility. Diets were then evaluated according to feed manufacturing variables, pellet quality, broiler performance, and TMEn. Moisture-mold inhibitor additions resulted in an increase in moisture percentages directly after manufacture. After a 2-d storage period, no differences in moisture percentage were detected in diets manufactured at the pilot mill; however, this was not true for diets manufactured commercially. Pellet durability was increased with moisture-mold inhibitor inclusion for the feed processed at the commercial mill, but not for the feed processed at the pilot mill. Relative electrical energy use decreased numerically with increasing levels of moisture-mold inhibitor added to feed processed at the pilot mill. The 1 and 2% diets manufactured commercially resulted in improvements in BW, live weight gain, and FCR, but not the diets manufactured at the pilot mill. There were no differences in TMEn values among treatments, regardless of the manufacturing location. These findings indicate that moisture-mold inhibitor addition has the potential to improve broiler performance and decrease production costs, but improvement depends on the milling technique.