Effect of free-choice feeding on the performance and ileal digestibility of nutrients in broilers

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study ileal digestibility of nutrients and to verify the ability of broilers to select feed in order to meet their requirements for protein and energy. The treatments consisted of six diets: R+S: free-choice feeding with rice bran (energy) and soybean meal (protein); C+G: free-choice feeding with corn (energy) and corn gluten meal (protein); R+G: free-choice feeding with rice bran (energy) and corn gluten meal (protein); C+S: free-choice feeding with corn (energy) and soybean meal (protein); R+C+G+S: free-choice feeding with rice bran and corn (energy) and corn gluten meal and soybean meal (protein); and BD: basal diet represented by a complete diet composed of 63% corn and 33% soybean meal. The results indicated that the adjustment to nutritional requirements does not depend only on the ability of birds to select feed. It might also depend on intake and ingredient quality, since some ingredients did not provide a balanced amount of nutrients. The birds were able to fulfill their requirements for maintenance, that is, they consumed the minimum amount of amino acids (g per day) for maximum growth. The free-choice group with corn gluten meal as the protein source had the worst performance, which indicated that this feed is not recommended as a primary source of amino acids for broilers. The C+G diet presented the highest digestibility coefficient of dry matter and crude protein, whereas the C+S diet resulted in the highest digestibility coefficient of ether extract and nitrogen-free extract, indicating that diet digestibility was affected by the type of feed used as energy and protein sources. In general, the high digestibility values indicate that broilers are able to efficiently digest and absorb the supplied feed

Diet selection by calves facing pairs of nutritionally complementary foods

“…Moreover, exposing animals to extreme treatments only (i.e., mixed ration vs. freechoice among ingredients) may not clearly express their ability to select a balanced diet when daily fluctuations in food consumptions are high, as it was observed in T100:0 in the present study. Conversely, our results do agree with studies with broilers which revealed that, when animals were exposed to choice feeding among ingredients, protein intake was lower than expected, thus leading to lower performance (Siegel et al, 1997;Yo et al, 1998;Cruz et al, 2005).…”

Cafeteria-Type Feeding of Chickens Indicates a Preference for Insect (Tenebrio molitor) Larvae Meal

“…Along the days, birds instigated by their active and curious behavior were able to self-select other components to promote regular growth. Interestingly, the most consumed component reverted to be TM meal (protein-and energy-rich), followed by ground corn (energy content), which indicates the capability of birds to regulate the consumption of ingredients to maintain the energy: protein ratio according to their nutritional needs [40]. Moreover, the unquestionable shift from a conventional protein source (soybean) to TM meal was observed and it may demonstrate that birds opted to feed on TM meal because of its sensory characteristics as well as good nutritional profile.…”

Inclusion of Moringa Leaf Powder (Moringa oleifera) in Fodder for Feeding Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

“…Since as the percentage of inclusion increased, feed intake decreased significantly, the nutrient and energy intake increased, and therefore caused greater satiety in birds, although it could be due to the fiber effect discussed above and not by what they claim. In this respect, Aami-Azghadi et al (2014) and Cruz et al (2005) suggest that diets should contain protein and energy densities according to the stage of development of the birds. In the diets used in this study, the protein level was constant and the energy, raw fiber and dietary fiber increased with the greater inclusion of MOR (Table 1).…”