A 35-day experimental study was carried out to assess the impact of various fat sources in the diet on the levels of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the ileum and cecum of broiler chicks. A sample of 240 male broiler chicks, aged one day, was divided into four treatment groups, each with six replicates. The four treatments included a control diet with no fat source (Control), a diet with 4% poultry fat (PF), a diet with 4% sunflower oil (SO), and a diet with 4% canola oil (CO). The results showed that at the ages of 21 and 35 d, the concentration of LA in the ileum and cecum was significantly higher in the birds fed diets SO and CO than in the birds fed diet PF. The dietary treatment significantly affected only the concentration of VFA in the cecum (P < 0.05), while there was no significant impact on VFA values in the ileum. At 21 and 35 days of age, the consumption of SO and CO diets resulted in higher levels of VFA compared to the PF and control diets, with the CO group exhibiting the highest VFA levels in the cecum at 35 days of age (P < 0.05). In summary, substituting polyunsaturated fatty acid sources for saturated fatty acid sources in broiler diets could elevate concentrations of total VFA and LA in the intestine, particularly in the cecum.
