The Influence of Different Regimens of Early Nutrient Restriction on Performance and Abdominal Fat of Broilers

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the influence of different regimens of early nutrient restriction on the performance and abdominal fat of broilers. A total of 126 day old Ross broiler chicks were randomly assigned to six dietary treatments, each with three replicates of seven birds. All birds were fed ad libitum to seven days of age on the control starter diet (ME 3,081.20 Kcal/kg) and (23.00%) crude protein (diet 1). During the starter phase, birds in treatments 2 to 6 were fed a low energy (ME 2,800.00 Kcal/kg) and low protein (18.40%) diet, that is diet 2 for 16 days in varying regimens, all starting at 7 days of age, alternated by feeding the standard starter diet, (diet 1). All birds were then offered a standard finisher diet, diet 3 from day 35 to the end of the experiment (day 63). Feed intake and body weight of birds were measured weekly. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body weight gain were also determined. At the end of the experiment three chickens from each replicate were randomly selected, weighed, slaughtered and used to determine the abdominal fat weight and carcass weight. The completely randomized design was used in analysing all data. Varying the regimens of early nutrient restriction did not significantly influence all the performance parameters measured and the abdominal fat of broilers. It was, therefore, concluded that a mild form of feed restriction can be embarked upon as early as 7 days of age without detrimental effect on broilers.