Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia (Nov 2011)
Performance of broilers fed digestible amino acids based diets obtained from cecectomized roosters and broilers
Abstract
This experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of broilers fed ration formulated based on digestible amino acids obtained with cecectomized roosters and broilers at different ages. A total of 300 Ag Ross 508 broiler chicks aging one to 21 days was distributed into 30 experimental units of ten broilers each (five birds of each sex) in six batteries of galvanized steel. All diets were based on corn, soybean meal and full-fat corn germ meal, considering the values of diges tible amino acids obtained from 45-week-old roosters and broilers of 21 and 42 days of age. Two rearing phases were adopted, a pre-starter phase (one to seven days) and a starter phase (eight to 21 days). The following performance variables were evaluated: average weight, weight gain, feed intake, feed:gain relation and mortality. Birds were distributed according to a completely randomized design with three forms of determination of digestible amino acids content and ten repetitions of ten birds. The use of digestible amino acids based diets determined for broiler chicks at 21 days of age resulted in better performance of bro ilers in starter phase. The digestible amino acid values of each ingredient can vary according to the age of the birds during the determination procedure.
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