Response of broiler to skip a day (SAD) feeding

Abstract

One hundred and eighty day-old broilers were used to investigate the response of broilers to skip-a-day feeding regime. Broiler chicks were either fed ad libitium or subjected to 1,2,3,4 or 5 week skip-a-day feeding thereafter fed ad libitium to market age. Result at market age showed that feed intake was significantly reduced (P 0.025) while weight gain and feed to gain ratio were not significantly affected (P>0.05, P>0.025) by skip-a-day feeding. Skip-a-day feeding did not affect mortality of broilers (P>0.05), P>0.025). Protein retention, fat retention and fibre utilization were comparable for broilers in all treatments (P>0.05, P>0.025). Abdominal fat pad was significantly reduced (P 0.05, P>0.025) when the two feeding systems were compared. It was concluded that, if approximately applied, skip-a-day feeding could result in sufficient cost reduction to be of commercial importance. Keywords: Skip-a-day (SAD) Feed intake, Weight gain, Cost to benefit ratio, Nutrient retention