Apart from soybean meal, alternative sources of protein are a long-term concern facing commercial broiler producers. These alternative protein sources must be rich in protein, have a balanced amino acid profile, be highly digestible, be nutritionally safe for the bird, and ideally contain some other intrinsic value. Spirulina platensis is a microalgae that is growing in popularity due to its high protein level, health benefits, and environmental impact. Two experiments (in female and male Ross 708 broilers) were conducted to determine the effect of Spirulina inclusion in reduced crude protein diets on broiler growth, carcass yields, breast fillet color, breast myopathy, and footpad quality. The results showed that lowering crude protein impaired carcass yield in both experiments, while hindering growth performance more in male birds than female birds. Spirulina inclusion at 10% in a reduced protein diet improved footpad score in male broilers and increased meat and skin pigmentation in all birds. The inclusion of Spirulina into a commercial setting will always be driven by costs, but this study aids in expanding fundamental research to make that possible.

除了豆粕，蛋白质的替代来源是商业肉鸡生产商面临的长期问题。这些替代蛋白质来源必须富含蛋白质，具有均衡的氨基酸组成，高度可消化，对鸟类的营养安全，并且理想情况下还包含一些其他内在价值。钝顶螺旋藻是一种微藻，由于其高蛋白质含量、健康益处和环境影响而越来越受欢迎。进行了两个实验（在雌性和雄性 Ross 708 肉鸡中）以确定螺旋藻的作用在低粗蛋白日粮中加入对肉鸡生长、胴体产量、胸肉颜色、乳房肌病和足垫质量的影响。结果表明，在两个实验中，降低粗蛋白都会损害胴体产量，同时对雄鸟的生长性能比雌鸟的影响更大。在低蛋白日粮中加入 10% 的螺旋藻可改善雄性肉鸡的足垫评分，并增加所有鸟类的肉和皮肤色素沉着。将螺旋藻纳入商业环境总是由成本驱动，但这项研究有助于扩大基础研究，使之成为可能。