Feeding management strategy for male broiler breeders and its effects on body weight, hatchability and fertility

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the supply of a specific-male diet on rooster body weight, hatchability, and fertility. Two diets were supplied during the egg production period: treatment 1, diet formulated for females and containing, in average, 2,830 kcal ME/kg and 15% CP; and treatment 2, diet specifically formulated for male broiler breeders, containing 2,750 kcal ME/kg and 13.5% CP. In the experiment, 26 flocks, with approximately 7,000 females and 840 males each, belonging to the same broiler breeder commercial strain, were distributed into 26 houses (1200m 2 ) on the same farm, and submitted to the same management practices. Body weight was evaluated in 13 flocks per treatment and for five weeks (45, 50, 55, 60, 65), and hatchability and fertility in four incubation lots per treatment and for the same weeks. Data were evaluated by the analysis of mixed models for repeated measurements, using the PROC MIXED of SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA), and means were compared by the test of Tukey-Kramer at 5% significance level. The specific-male diet allowed body weight control during all analyzed weeks and promoted high hatchability and egg fertility. The increase in the number of chicks hatched demonstrates the economic viability of feeding a specific diet for male broiler breeders.

Influence of Age and Sex on the Blood Biochemical Constituent Values of Broiler Breeders During the Egg-Laying Stage

“…Males had higher uric acid levels than females (Table 1). Several authors have seen that roosters need lower protein levels than females to improve reproductive performance (Hocking 1990;Silveira et al 2014), with an intake need of approximately 12% (Hocking 1990). Thus, the feed intake in this study had higher protein content (14%) than in other studies, and this may have resulted in higher nitrogen metabolite production in males.…”

Effects of Different Mating Strategies on Productive Performance, Bird Welfare and Economic Appraisal of Broiler Breeder under Two Production Systems

“…The results also indicative that males in cages possessed lesser body weight as compared to males kept on floor across the experiment. On another hand, it was also revealed that higher body weight was exhibited by males which were subjected to AI as simply they were offered more quantity of feed to compel them for more semen production as compared to males which were let to mate naturally (Silveira et al, 2014). It is deducted that more feed was required to produce more semen thus more feed was offered which resulted in heavier weight in males (Karaca et al, 2002).…”

D-Aspartate amends reproductive performance of aged roosters by changing gene expression and testicular histology

“…In males, it is manifested by decline in sexual behaviour, serum androgens, semen quality and quantity and fertility (Gunes et al 2016). Despite comprising only 10% of commercial broiler breeder flocks, roosters contribute equally in the production of fertile eggs and hatched chicks (Silveira et al 2014). In broiler breeder roosters, fertility begins to decline at around 40 weeks of age.…”

“…Male replacement (or spiking) is used to sustain fertility performance in older flocks and has become a standard practice in broiler breeder operations despite the fact that this approach is costly, threatens biosecurity and disrupts social flock behaviour (Brillard 2004). The proposed reasons for this age-associated decline in fertility include: (1) animals are overweight (Silveira et al 2014); (2) sperm retention by Sertoli cells in seminiferous tubules (Rosenstrauch et al 1994); (3) a decrease in testosterone and an increase in oestradiol concentrations in the plasma (Rosenstrauch et al 1998;Weil et al 1999;Sarabia Fragoso et al 2013); and (4) elevated serotonergic axis (serotoninvasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-prolactin (PRL)) activity (Avital-Cohen et al 2015). Chen et al (1994) suggested the ageassociated decline in blood testosterone concentrations in rats is related to impairment of the steroidogenic pathway rather than Leydig cell numbers.…”

“…Reproductive performance of senescent roosters has been improved using a male-specific diet (Silveira et al 2014) and by incorporating by-products with known antioxidant properties (Akhlaghi et al 2014). Recently, parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA) and active immunisation against VIP (avian prolactinreleasing factor) successfully improved both semen quality and the plasma hormone profile of aged broiler breeder roosters (Avital-Cohen et al 2015).…”