Effects of Feed Restriction and Additional Fat Supplementation on Growth Performance and Nutrient Utilization in Broilers

Abstract

Effects of feed restrictions and additional (1%) fat supplementation on growth performance of broilers was studied. 480 chicks were distributed randomly into 8 treatments having total 60 birds per treatment (4 replicates x 15 chicks in each replicate). T0: Control group fed ad-libitum as per ICAR (2013) specification, T1: T0 with additional 1% fat supplementation, T2: T0 with feed restriction at 8–14 day of age (DOA) (8–10 hours), T3: T1 with feed restriction at 8–14 DOA (8–10 hours), T4: T0 with feed restriction at 15–21 DOA (8–10 hours), T5: T1 with feed restriction at 15–21 DOA (8–10 hours), T6: T0 with feed restriction at 22–28 DOA (8–10 hours) and T7: T1 with feed restriction at 22–28 DOA (8–10 hours). Results were presented for starter phase (up to 2 weeks), grower phase (3rd week) and finisher phase (4th-5th week) and for overall period (1–5 weeks). Significantly lower feed intake was observed in second and third week feed restricted groups as compared to control. Additional fat supplementation reduced feed intake during growth period. Significant reduction was reported for average body weight gains for finisher phase in fourth week feed restrictions. Significant reduction for average body weight gain was found during growth phase. Feed conversion ratio was poorer for finisher phase for feed restriction in 4th week. When interaction was studied, feed conversion ratio was found to be the best in 2nd week for second week feed restricted groups without additional fat supplementation. PER and CER were reduced during finisher phase in 4th week feed restricted group. It was concluded that feed restriction reduced the feed intake and body weight gain during feed restriction period but not for overall period.