| Summary: | To investigate the effect of poultry by-product meal (PBM) replacing fish meal on the growth and intestinal health of Chinese soft-shelled turtle <i>(Pelodiscus sinensis)</i>. Four experimental diets were prepared. Fish meal was replaced by 0 (control group, PBM0), 5% (PBM5), 10% (PBM10), and 15% (PBM15) PBM. Compared to the control group, final body weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate were significantly increased, while feed conversion rate decreased significantly in the PBM10 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The PBM15 group significantly increased the moisture content and significantly decreased the ash content of the turtles (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The PBM5 and PBM15 groups significantly decreased the whole-body crude lipid (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The serum glucose content increased significantly in the PBM10 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The liver malonaldehyde content significantly decreased in the PBM5 group and in the PBM10 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Liver glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase and intestinal pepsin activity were increased significantly in the PBM15 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The expression of the intestinal interleukin 10 (<i>IL-10</i>) gene was significantly down-regulated in the PBM10 group and the PBM15 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05), the expression of the intestinal interferon-<i>γ</i> (<i>IFN</i>-<i>γ</i>), interleukin-8 (<i>IL-8</i>), and liver toll-like receptor 4 (<i>TLR4</i>) and toll-like receptor 5 (<i>TLR5</i>) genes were significantly up-regulated in the PBM5 group (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In summary, poultry by-product meal can be used as a protein source to replace fish meal in turtle feed. Based on quadratic regression analysis, the optimal replacement ratio is 7.39%.
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