Effect of choice feeding on the performance of broilers

Area of Science:

• * Poultry Nutrition and Husbandry
• * Animal Science and Feed Technology

Background:

• * Evaluating different broiler feeding strategies is crucial for optimizing growth and profitability.
• * Understanding the impact of diet form (mash, pellets) and presentation (complete, choice-fed) is key.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To determine the effect of feeding method on broiler growth, carcass composition, and profitability.
• * To compare complete pelleted/mash diets with free-choice feeding of separate ingredients.

Main Methods:

• * Male broilers (21-56 days) were assigned to 12 treatments: complete mash/pellets, choice-fed diets (grain/protein concentrate), and unbalanced mash diets.
• * Diets included maize or sorghum as energy sources (whole/mash) with protein concentrate (pellets/mash).
• * Body weight, feed consumption, feed efficiency, carcass characteristics, and mortality were recorded.

Main Results:

• * No significant differences in body weight, feed intake, feed efficiency, carcass ash, or dressing percentage were observed across treatments.
• * Choice-fed broilers consuming whole grains had larger gizzards.
• * Higher protein diets (50/50) led to increased carcass moisture and protein, but reduced fat content.

Conclusions:

• * Choice feeding, particularly with whole grains, presents potential economic advantages.
• * Feeding methods did not significantly compromise overall broiler performance or carcass quality.
• * Optimizing choice feeding strategies could lead to cost savings in broiler production.