Effect of water restriction and sodium levels in the drinking water on broiler performance during the first week of life

Abstract

A trial was carried out to evaluate the performance of female ROSS 308 broilers, from 1 to 21 days of age, submitted to 20% of water restriction (WR) or ad libitum water and four different sodium levels by adding NaCl to the drinking water (0, 150, 300, or 450 ppm) from 1 to 7 days of age. A control group, with four replications (rep), housed one day before the beginning of the experiment, was used as reference for WR calculation. Two commercial diets where fed from 1 to 7 days and from 8 to 21 days to all birds. The chicks were raised in battery cages. A randomized complete design, in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement, with four replications/treatment and 14 birds/replicate, was applied. Feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the first week were influenced by WR. During this period, there was a significant interaction between factors, showing that in chicks not submitted to WR, water consumption increased with sodium levels. Also, at 7 days of age, excreta and carcass dry matter contents were higher in WR animals. During the second week, WR continued to affect FI, but the previously WR broilers presented better FCR, higher WG, and water consumption than the non-WR broilers. Mortality was not affected either by WR or sodium levels. At 21 days of age, except for FI, no significant differences were observed between restricted and non-restricted birds. Sodium levels up to 450 ppm were not toxic to the birds. These results suggested that if optimal conditions are offered, broilers quickly overcome unfavorable circumstances to their growth.