-The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% water restriction (WR) on broiler performance, behavior, organ development (heart, leg, proventriculus and gizzard, liver, and intestines), and intestinal micrometry. Four hundred and eighty ROSS 308 male broilers were raised in battery cages measuring 0.72 m 2 , from 1 to 21 days of age. Feed was offered ad libitum, and environmental temperatures were kept in thermoneutral conditions. Water intake was estimated based on a control group, two days older than the experimental birds, with same initial weight. A linear reduction on bird performance, duodenal villi height, and fresh organs weight were observed as WR increased. At 21 days of age, for each 1% WR, a weight loss of 8.5 g was observed. However, the mortality rate was not affected by any WR level. Organ weight, relative to body weight, was not affected by WR, except for heart, which weight increased with WR. Villi numbers and crypts depth were not affected by WR. Birds under WR changed their behavior, becoming aggressive and irritated. Electron microscopy data showed higher villi extrusion in WR broilers. In conclusion, WR, regardless its magnitude, should be avoided in broiler production. de vilos e no peso relativo dos orgãos (em relação ao peso corporal), exceto do coração, que aumentou com a restrição de água.Nas aves sob restrição de água, houve maior extrusão dos vilos. Os frangos submetidos à restrição de água alteraram seu comportamento, tornando-se agressivos e irritadiços. A restrição de água, independentemente de sua magnitude, deve ser evitada na criação de frangos de corte.Palavras-chave: água, comportamento, frango de corte, morfologia e histologia duodenal, órgãos

RESUMO -Foi estudado o efeito do teor de PB (44, 46 e 48%) do farelo de soja (FS) utilizado na composição das rações sobre o desempenho, o metabolismo e a micrometria intestinal de frangos de corte. Os três FS foram obtidos de um mesmo FS, com 48,4% PB, adicionado de níveis crescentes de casca de soja desativada. Foram utilizadas 312 aves, distribuídas em três tratamentos, com oito repetições. As rações formuladas para as três fases de crescimento (1 a 7, 8 a 21 e 22 a 42 dias) foram isocalóricas e isoprotéicas. Na fase de 1 a 7 dias, as aves dos três tratamentos não diferiram entre si quanto ao desempenho.No entanto, do 8 o ao 21 o dia, aquelas alimentadas com ração FS48% apresentaram melhor ganho de peso (GP) e conversão alimentar (CA). A ração com FS48%, na fase de 1 a 21 dias, promoveu maiores peso corporal e GP e melhor CA que aquela com FS44%. Na fase de 22 a 42 dias, as aves submetidas aos tratamentos tiveram desempenhos semelhantes. Para os dados de metabolismo, nos dois períodos de coleta de excretas (3 a 7 e 39 a 42 dias de idade), a dieta com FS48% proporcionou o mais alto coeficiente de metabolizabilidade da EB e da MS, quando comparada à dieta contendo FS44%. A altura das vilosidades, a profundidade das criptas e o número de vilos na alça duodenal não foram afetados pelos tratamentos.Palavras-chave: metabolizabilidade energética, metabolizabilidade da matéria seca, morfometria duodenal Effect of soybean meal composition on broiler performance and metabolismABSTRACT -It was studied the effect of soybean meal (SBM) composition, varying in CP (SBM44%, SBM46% and SBM48%), on performance, metabolism and intestinal micrometry of broilers. Three SBM were produced from the SBM with 48.4% CP and increasing levels of toasted soybean hulls. Three hundred and twelve birds were assigned to three treatments with eight replicates. The diets were formulated for three periods: 1 to 7 days, 8 to 21 days and 22 to 42 days of age. All dietary treatments were isoenergy and isoprotein. From 1 to 7 days of age, no treatment effect on bird performance was observed. However, from 8 to 21 days of age, the birds fed SBM48% showed the best weight gain (WG) and feed conversion (FC). In the period from 1 to 21 days of age, the broilers fed SBM48% showed higher body weight and WG and better FC than those fed SBM44%. In the period from 22 to 42 days of age, the birds on all dietary treatments showed similar performance. The metabolism parameters evaluated at both periods (3 to 7 and 39 to 42 days of age) showed that the SBM48% treatment promoted a significantly higher coefficient of metabolizability of GE and DM than SBM44% treatment. No treatment effect on villi height, cript depth and number of intestinal villi was observed.Key Words: dry matter metabolizability, duodenal morphometry, energy metabolizability IntroduçãoA exigência dos consumidores, especialmente os europeus, por frangos alimentados com dietas isentas de ingredientes de origem animal valorizou ainda mais o farelo de soja (FS) como fonte de proteína em dietas avíco...

-A trial was carried out to evaluate the performance of female ROSS 308 broilers, from 1 to 21 days of age, submitted to 20% of water restriction (WR) or ad libitum water and four different sodium levels by adding NaCl to the drinking water (0, 150, 300, or 450 ppm) from 1 to 7 days of age. A control group, with four replications (rep), housed one day before the beginning of the experiment, was used as reference for WR calculation. Two commercial diets where fed from 1 to 7 days and from 8 to 21 days to all birds. The chicks were raised in battery cages. A randomized complete design, in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement, with four replications/treatment and 14 birds/replicate, was applied. Feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the first week were influenced by WR. During this period, there was a significant interaction between factors, showing that in chicks not submitted to WR, water consumption increased with sodium levels. Also, at 7 days of age, excreta and carcass dry matter contents were higher in WR animals. During the second week, WR continued to affect FI, but the previously WR broilers presented better FCR, higher WG, and water consumption than the non-WR broilers. Mortality was not affected either by WR or sodium levels. At 21 days of age, except for FI, no significant differences were observed between restricted and non-restricted birds. Sodium levels up to 450 ppm were not toxic to the birds. These results suggested that if optimal conditions are offered, broilers quickly overcome unfavorable circumstances to their growth. Em condições adequadas, frangos de corte conseguem reverter rapidamente circunstâncias adversas a seu crescimento.Palavras-chave: água, aves, crescimento compensatório, minerais R. Bras.

The poultry industry normally has little control over the raw material that arrives at the processing plant. This experiment aimed to evaluate chemical and energetic quality of corn obtained in a feed mill before and after pre-cleaning. Twenty samples of 30 kg of corn each were taken from trucks delivering corn to the mill. The trucks were then unloaded and the material passed through a pre-cleaning process when another sample was taken. Samples were graded and physical properties evaluated: density (g/L), grain percentages of foreign material, impurities, fragments, broken, soft, insect damaged, fire-burnt, fermented, damaged, cracked and fine particles, as well as chemical composition analysis: Apparent metabolizable energy for poultry (AME), ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), starch (STA), water activity (WA), crude protein (CP), digestible and total lysine, methionine, cystine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, histidine and arginine. The experiment was a randomized design with two treatments (before and after pre-cleaning) and twenty replications. Data was analyzed using SAS ® and treatment differences obtained using F test. Correlations and principal components were calculated. There was a decrease in density after the pre-cleaning process, which was probably due to the removal of earth and stones rather than grain and its fractions. Significant increases were found for insect damage, fermented and damaged grain while fire-burn was significantly reduced after the pre-cleaning process. Starch increased after pre-cleaning which is a result of contaminants that normally are poor in this carbohydrate, but fiber levels increased too. Apparent metabolizable energy, aminoacids, digestible (P<0.05) and total (P<0.05) histidine, total lysine and methionine (P<0.1) levels were reduced after pre-cleaning. Density was higher when there were fewer impurities such as straw, husk or small grains. Broken corn was positively correlated (P<0.05) with foreign material (0.63) and fragments (0.76), while proportion of damaged corn was positively correlated with foreign material (0.68), fragments (0.58) and broken corn (0.83). In this study, even in samples classified as excellent quality before pre-cleaning, the pre-cleaning process was effective in reducing humidity and water activity which helps control the growth of fungi or other microorganisms. Starch and fiber levels increased after pre-cleaning while apparent metabolizable energy levels was not improved by pre-cleaning.