Is sequential feeding a suitable technique to compensate for the negative effects of a tropical climate in finishing broilers?

Abstract

-Feed withdrawal during the warmest part of the day (09:00 to 16:00 h) was compared with the distribution of ground corn and commercial feed consumed ad libitum by control broilers from 28 to 42 d exposed to tropical climatic conditions (averaged Ta = 25 °C; Relative Humidity (RH) = 72%). From 16:00 to 09:00 h, a continuous illumination was in the poultry shed and the chickens received a commercial diet. Each diet was supplied to 7 pens of 14 unsexed broilers. Both feed withdrawal and corn distribution during the day period reduced growth (P < 0.01) and deteriorated feed conversion (P < 0.01) compared to the ad libitum control. At the age of 41 d, the average body temperature (Tb) at 14:00 h in the control group was 42.56 °C. It was higher (P < 0.002) than that recorded in the corn fed group (42.27 °C) and the feed withdrawal chickens (42.11 °C). These effects measured in 4-6 week-old broilers exposed to a moderate tropical climate, illustrate the limitation of feed restriction and sequential feeding under practical conditions. Further research is needed to study the diurnal distribution of corn or feed withdrawal coupled with a balanced diet richer in essential amino acids than the commercial diet during the nocturnal period. les phases les plus chaudes de la journée (09:00 à 16:00 h) a été comparé à la distribution ad libitum de maïs broyé ou d'un aliment commercial pendant la même période, chez des poulets de chair élevés en milieu tropical (Température moyenne = 25 °C ; HR moyenne = 72 %) entre 28 et 42 jours d'âge. Entre 16:00 et 09:00 h tous les poulets recevaient l'aliment commercial ad libitum et le poulailler était continuellement éclairé. Chaque régime expérimental a été distribué à 7 parquets de 14 poulets non sexés. Le retrait d'aliment comme la distribution de maïs ont réduit la croissance (P < 0,01) et détérioré l'indice de consommation (P < 0,01) par rapport aux témoins nourris ad libitum. A l'âge de 41 jours, la température corporelle moyenne mesurée à 14:00 h était de 42,56 °C chez les témoins. Elle était supérieure (P < 0,002) à celle mesurée chez les poulets recevant du maïs (42,27 °C) ou mis à jeun (42,11 °C). Ces effets mesurés entre 4 et 6 semaines d'âge chez des poulets exposés à un climat tropical modéré, illustrent les limites du retrait de l'aliment ou l'alimentation séquentielle dans des conditions pratiques. Des recherches complémentaires associant à la distribution de maïs ou au jeûne diurne, un régime complémentaire nocturne plus riche en acides aminés indispensables que le régime commercial sont souhaitables.poulet de chair / température corporelle / alimentation séquentielle / rythme / climat chaud

The effects of early‐age thermal manipulation and daily short‐term fasting on performance and body temperatures in broiler exposed to heat stress

“…This result indicates that the duration of fasting was longer than the broilers could compensate for. This conclusion is similar to the observations of Lozano et al. (2006) who noted that a daily 7 h of feed restriction under heat stress had adverse effects on feed intake, body weight and feed conversion.…”

Cyclic variations in incubation conditions induce adaptive responses to later heat exposure in chickens: a review

“…Chronic heat stress is induced by cyclic or continuous high environmental temperatures over a long period (days to weeks), permitting acclimatization to the environment. These stressful climatic conditions, especially acute heat exposure, cause welfare issues and increase morbidity and mortality (Lozano et al, 2006).…”

“…Such heat waves cause welfare issues, especially during the last period of rearing when meat-type poultry species are the most sensitive to heat (Tesseraud and Temim, 1999). It has been reported that 10% of mortality in poultry houses at slaughter age in Venezuela could be owing to heat exposure (Lozano et al, 2006). One hypothesis is that the selection programs ignored the enlargement of visceral organs such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, whereas muscle yield increased significantly during the selection (Havenstein et al, 2003;Yahav et al, 2004a).…”

Effects of sequential feeding with low- and high-protein diets on growth performances and plasma metabolite levels in geese

“…When broilers were supplied with diet moderately protein-rich (21.2% CP, 3020 kcal ME/kg) during one-half of the time and with diet moderately energy-rich (14.2% CP, 3350 kcal ME/g) during the other half of the time each day, their weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion rate were not different from those of broilers fed complete diet (17.8% CP, 3160 kcal ME/kg) (Bouvarel et al, 2004). Broilers that were offered ground corn (9.2% CP, 3350 kcal ME/kg) during the day (from 0900 to 1600 h) and control diet (19.5% CP, 3200 kcal ME/kg) during the night (from 1600 to 0900 h), though consumed the same quantity of feed, had less weight gain and higher feed conversion rate from 28 to 41 days of age compared with the broilers fed the control diet ad libitum (Lozano et al, 2006). When the CP intakes of broilers are calculated on the tabular data of the references mentioned above, it is found that the CP intakes in sequential feeding groups are lower than those in the control groups in all studies, except for one study (Bouvarel et al, 2004), in which the group sequentially fed with moderately protein-and energy-rich diets (26.4% and 16.2% CP, respectively) had higher CP intake and weight gain than the control group.…”