Background Highly automated cage-rearing systems are becoming increasingly popular in China. However, a high stocking density can cause oxidative stress and decrease broiler performance. The tryptophan (TRP) derivative 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HT) has been shown to preserve membrane fluidity in birds suffering from oxidative stress. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary TRP supplementation on performance, breast meat quality and oxidative stress in broilers reared in cages with a high or low stocking density. Methods Female Arbor Acres broilers (25-d-old, n?=?144) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatments. The birds were fed a diet based on corn, soybean meal, cottonseed meal and corn gluten meal containing either 0.18 or 0.27% TRP and were housed with stocking densities of 11 or 15.4 birds/m2 in a 2?×?2 factorial experiment. Broiler performance was evaluated from d 25 to 42. Eight birds from each treatment were slaughtered on d 42 and plasma and breast muscle samples were collected to measure biochemical indices. Results A higher stocking density tended to be associated with reduced weight gain (P?
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