Protein and Energy Requirements of Meat-Type Chickens to Fifteen Weeks of Age

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONTHE development of high nutrient density diets for broilers in the past decade and a half has been accompanied by numerous reports in the literature on the relationship of protein and energy. Excellent reviews of these reports have been given by O’Neil et al. (1962) and Summers et al. (1964), however, none dealt with birds beyond the normal marketable age of nine weeks.In recent years, interest has been shown in heavy broiler or young roaster enterprises. Wisman et al. (1961) reported that, production-wise, meat-type birds could be marketed more economically at 11 weeks than at nine weeks of age. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine the protein and energy requirements of meat-type birds between 10 and 15 weeks of age. Since it seemed desirable to employ 10-week-old birds that had been fed optimal protein and energy levels up to that time, the study was …