Identifier

etd-07062011-150311

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Animal Science (Animal, Dairy, and Poultry Sciences)

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to determine whether delaying the feeding of a diet with reduced crude protein, supplemented with L-Lysine, for several days post-hatching, would result in improved growth performance of broiler chicks and determine an optimal time to feed such a diet to the chick. All experiments were conducted in brooder batteries from 0- to 14- or 18- days (d) post-hatching. Treatments contained a minimum of 6 replicate pens with at least 6 broilers per pen. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether delaying the feeding of a corn-soybean meal (SBM) diet with reduced CP for either the first 5 or 10 days post-hatching would result in improved growth performance of broilers. The results of these experiments show that even when the diets are not deficient in amino acids (AA), feed efficiency is negatively affected by switching birds to a low CP diet several days after post-hatching; effects on daily gain are minimal until the diet becomes deficient in AA. Two experiments were conducted to determine the optimal time to feed a diet with reduced CP, supplemented with L-Lysine, to the chick. The results of these experiments indicate that as long as the diets are not deficient in AA, overall growth performance during the starter phase is not negatively affected for broilers switched from diets with reduced CP to one with an adequate level, at day 5 or day 10 post-hatching, or those fed the reduced CP diets continuously.

Date

2011

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Southern, Lee L.

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.730

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