FEED TEXTURE EFFECTS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ROASTER CHICKENS

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted, each experiment involved 1600 day-old Arbor Acre male broiler chickens which were assigned to 20 pens divided into four blocks of five pens each with five feed texture treatments assigned to the pens within each block. The five treatments were (1) All mash — corn and wheat finely ground, (2) All mash — corn and wheat coarsely ground, (3) All mash — corn and wheat very coarsely rolled, (4) same as no. 1 but crumbled or pelleted and (5) same as no. 2 but crumbled or pelleted. Although feed texture had no overall significant (P > 0.05) effect on mortality, mortality was higher among birds fed the crumble-pellet diets compared with those fed the all-mash diets, this higher mortality was due to a higher incidence of Sudden Death Syndrome. Finely and very coarsely ground diets fed as mash resulted in significantly poorer feed conversion at both 21 d (P < 0.001) and 49 d of age (P < 0.01); however, there was no significant (P < 0.05) effect of feed texture on feed conversion at 63 d of age. Body weights were significantly (P < 0.01 to P < 0.001) affected by feed texture at 21, 49 and 63 d of age with the feeding of finely ground mash resulting in the lowest body weights with the heaviest final body weights exhibited by birds fed diets which were either fine or coarse ground mashes which had gone through the crumble and/or pellet process. Feed texture dietary treatments had no effect on the incidence of leg abnormalities. Monetary returns per bird started were significantly (P < 0.05) depressed by the feeding of finely ground mash to chickens while other feed texture treatments were not significantly (P > 0.05) different. Key words: Chicken (roaster), feed texture, ingredient particle size