Whole and ground grain sorghum and the free choice feeding system in broiler diets

Abstract

This experiment evaluates the zootechnical performance, yield of cuts, carcass composition, and intake of metabolizable energy, lysine, and methionine + cystine in male broilers from 21 to 42 days of age fed diets based on whole and ground grain sorghum and corn. A total of 112 birds of the Cobb 500 lineage were divided into 28 cages (four animals per cage) in a completely randomized design with four treatments and seven replications. Treatments consisted of diets based on ground corn and soybean meal (control, T1), ground sorghum and soybean meal (treatment 2, T2), whole grain sorghum and soybean meal (treatment 3, T3), and the diet T3 separated in feeders in the fractions (a) whole grain sorghum and (b) concentrate containing the other ingredients of the mixed feed (free choice feeding) (treatment 4, T4). The variables feed intake, body weight, feed conversion, viability, breast, drumstick and thigh yield , bromatological composition of breast and drumstick + thigh, and daily intakes of metabolizable energy, lysine and methionine + cystine were studied. The whole grain sorghum in diets is viable, contributes to reducing factory and logistics costs in the poultry industry, and promotes the same results of zootechnical performance, yields, and bromatological composition of cuts when compared to diets with ground corn and sorghum. Diets with whole grain sorghum in the free choice feeding system may be a viable alternative because birds sought to meet their daily needs for metabolizable energy and digestible amino acids even in short periods of adaptation to the diets, as demonstrated in the experiment.