Effects of acute versus chronic heat stress on broiler response to dietary protein

Two experiments were conducted to determine broiler response to dietary protein during short (1 wk) or prolonged (>3 wk) heat stress (HS). In experiment 1, 21-d-old birds were kept at 20.3 degrees C (thermoneutral; TN), 27.3 degrees C (medium temperature; MT), or 31.4 degrees C (high temperature; HT) and fed diets with 18, 20, 23, or 26% CP for 21 d. Each treatment consisted of 2 blocks of 3 replicates of 15 birds. In experiment 2, broilers were fed diets with 18 or 26% CP or fed ad libitum 2 diets with 10 or 30% CP. Birds were kept at TN (23.5 degrees C) or slowly introduced to HS from 7 to 14 d of age and kept at HT thereafter (chronic; CHS; 29.4 degrees C), and a third group was moved to HT at 21 d (acute HS; AHS; 29.4 degrees C). There were 16 replicates of 4 chickens per treatment distributed in 2 blocks. Performance, body composition, and protein deposition were ascertained from 21 to 28 d and from 28 to 42 d (short and prolonged exposures, respectively). Feeding high protein diets in experiment 1 resulted in linear improvements in body weight gain and feed:gain (P < 0.001) for MT and HT birds, whereas TN birds exhibited a linear (P < 0.001) response to protein. Feed intake declined as CP increased for HT birds during the third week of the study (P < 0.05). In trial 2, better performance was always observed in TN birds. HS depressed performance, although feeding high CP partially ameliorated this effect under AHS and CHS. Regardless of temperature, choice-fed birds selected high protein diets (mean 25.6% CP) and performed similarly to those fed 26% CP. CHS birds showed similar performance to those under AHS. Efficiency of protein deposition was unaffected (P > 0.05). Level of HS and duration of hyperthermia may determine the response of birds to dietary protein. Discrepancies between the 2 studies in response of birds to protein found after prolonged exposure to HS are discussed in view of the differences in levels of certain amino acids used within each experiment.