Abstract
Two growth experiments with fast growing meat type chickens (Ross 308) were conducted to assess the growth of feathers and feather-free body dependent on age and gender (male:female ratio = 1:1). Birds were reared under uniform management and feeding conditions (floor pens; 15 pens per gender; 5 birds per pen) during the starter (day 1 to 22) and grower period (day 22 to 36). Diets were based on corn, wheat, soybean meal, soybean protein concentrate and balanced with feed amino acids to ensure an equal feed protein quality close to the ideal amino acid ratio by a constant mixture of the feed proteins. At start of the experiment and further on weekly up to the end of the 5th week, 15 birds per gender (each 3 pens of 5 birds) were selected and 24 h fasted before quantitative de-feathering. Both feather and feather free body fractions were significantly increased with increasing age of the birds (p p
Highlights
Feather percentage as related to the empty body weight increased non-linearly from approximately 2% at the end of the first week to about 4% at the end of the experiment
Feather percentage and dry matter content of the feather-free body was significantly higher in female birds (p < 0.001) as compared to males
Further investigations will show how this varying proportions impact on nutrient deposition of modern meat-type chickens dependent on age and gender, respectively
Summary
In this context, both maintenance requirement and nutrient deposition data are needed for valid conclusions. Changes of the proportion between feather and feather-free body fractions during growth are of special importance for revision of such requirement data when based on factorial methods. Wylie et al [6] concluded that feather growth was apparently maintained in preference to muscle and body development. It was concluded that feather growth is maintained as high as possible on the expense of body growth when feed supply was below the need for optimal performance data. The nutrient consumption for feather development is a significant factor of high nutritional priority during the period of rapid growth
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