ABSTRACT
Genetic selection for increased growth rate in broilers makes feed restriction programs such as skip-a-day (SAD) feeding, for broiler breeders essential to managing body weight, flock uniformity, and reproductive performance. The objective of this experiment was to compare intestinal development, weight gain of breeder pullets, and reproductive performance (22-45 wk) when fed a high fiber diet (3.8% crude fiber) on either an every-day (ED) or SAD basis during rearing. The same developer ration and feed amounts were fed to both treatments. Day-old Ross 708 pullet chicks (n = 912) were randomly distributed into 4 floor pens (n = 228/pen, 2 pens/treatment). At 20 wk of age all birds were weighed, and the coefficient of variation (CV) and average body weight was calculated for each treatment. Birds were then distributed into 10 lay pens (n = 35 birds/pen, 5 pens/treatment) at 21.5 wk of age. Light was increased from 8 h to 15.25 h at move to the lay facility, and all birds were daily fed for the remainder of the study. Data were analyzed by SAS SLICE using a significance level of P ≤ 0.05. During lay, 25% of the birds from each treatment were weighed weekly to adjust feed and monitor body weight. At 21 wk the ED fed pullets were more uniform (P = 0.0007) than the SAD fed pullets. Eggs were collected daily and set for hatch every 4 wk from 28 to 42 wk of age. No significant difference in the hatch data were observed. The ED fed birds achieved first egg at 166 d of age while the SAD fed birds achieved first egg at 173 d of age. Specific gravity was measured every 2 wk from 30 to 40 wk, with ED reared birds having better overall eggshell quality (P = 0.02) and greater egg weight (P < 0.0001) than those fed SAD. Feeding a high fiber diet on an ED basis during rearing, improved body weight uniformity in rearing, encouraged early lay, improved eggshell quality and increased egg weight.
Subject(s)
Animal Feed , Chickens , Animal Feed/analysis , Animal Husbandry , Animals , Body Weight , Diet/veterinary , Female , Ovum , Weight GainABSTRACT
Broiler breeders are commonly feed restricted using some variation of skip-a-day feeding to prevent excessive body weight (BW) gain and poor flock uniformity that results in lower production levels. However, the level of feed restriction has increased leading to negative effects on broiler breeder welfare. Research needs to be conducted to evaluate alternative feeding programs to diminish the negative impact of restricted feeding on bird welfare. This research examined pullets that were fed soybean hulls (alternate day feeding, ATD) on the off day of a traditional skip-a-day feeding program in comparison to the standard skip-a-day program (SAD). The 2 dietary feeding treatments each had 3 replicate pens of 210 pullets each and were fed from wk 5 to 21 of age. Nitrogen-corrected true metabolizable energy and digestible amino acid coefficients of soybean hulls were determined. Body weight in the ATD feed program was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than the birds on the SAD feed program until 16 wk of age. Feed allocations for the SAD feeding program was increased at 11 wk of age to achieve similar BW prior to photo stimulation. The ATD feed program significantly improved BW uniformity of the birds for weeks 8, 12, 16, and 20. Hens fed on the SAD feed program had a lower mean egg production than the hens fed on the ATD program. There were significant differences on plasma corticosterone concentrations between the feeding days (24 or 48 h after feeding) in both feed programs. There was a shift in the behavior of the birds with significant differences in the feeding, foraging, and comfort behaviors between the feeding programs on the same feed day. Overall, feeding the ATD females soybean hulls on the off feed day improved the BW uniformity and egg production, but further research will be needed to determine potential differences in nutrient utilization or behavior of the pullets that positively impacted this flock performance.
