Effect of Early Nutrition on Abdominal Fat in Broilers

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of isocaloric diets varying in protein and fat content or diluted with a combination of cellulose and sand during the 1st wk of life on subsequent abdominal fat pad size in male broiler chicks. In the first experiment chicks were fed diets containing 2,850 kcal metabolizable energy (ME)/kg with 23% protein and low or high total fat (23/LF or 23/HF) or 28% protein with low fat (28/LF) for the 1st 7 days and diets with varying protein and fat levels during the next 19 days. Abdominal fat was significantly higher in chicks fed 28/LF for 7 days followed by 23/HF than for the other treatments. In a second experiment chicks in battery brooders were fed diets with 18, 23, or 28% protein with or without added fat. They were then intermingled and placed in floor pens where they were fed corn-soy starter grower and finisher diets to 7 wk. Body weight at 4 and 7 wk and abdominal fat at 4 wk were not significantly different among treatments, but abdominal fat at 7 wk was significantly higher for chicks fed the 28/LF or 28/HF diets. Effects of feeding the same 18/LF, 23/LF, and 28/LF diets or practical diets containing 3,150 kcal ME/kg with various protein levels during the first week were examined in another experiment. Chicks all received the same diets from 7 to 49 days. No significant differences in size of abdominal fat pad was observed within each diet series. A final experiment was conducted to determine the effect on abdominal fat content of diluting a 23% protein, 3,150 kcal ME/kg diet with levels of 0 to 10% cellulose:sand (1:2 ratio) during the 1st 7 days followed by feeding the same practical diets to intermingled chicks from 7 to 49 days of age. No difference in body weight was observed but abdominal fat of birds fed 2.5% cellulose:sand was significantly higher than birds fed 0 or 10% cellulose:sand. Results of these experiments show that abdominal fat content in market broilers may be influenced by the composition of the diet fed during the first week of life.