Author(s)

Ziphozihle Gobane¹, Sindisile Goni^2*, Denice Chikwanda¹, Leocadia Zhou³

¹Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa.
²Döhne Agricultural Development Institute, Stutterheim, South Africa.
³Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre, Faculty of Science & Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa.

The growth productivity of broilers is influenced by improving growth performance through improving body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of quantitative feed restriction duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. A total of 144 day-old broiler chicks were reared in a deep litter system until slaughter at 42 days. Chicks were randomly allocated to three treatments which were replicated three times with 16 birds per replicate. The three treatments were the control (T1), one week of feed restriction (T2), and two weeks of feed restriction (T3). Birds were fed with starter, grower and finisher diets. The average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were computed for each week. Carcass weight and internal organs weights were measured. The body weight gained by the birds in T1 was similar to the birds that were restricted for a week. The treatments had a significant effect on the average daily gain in weeks 4, 5, and 6. The ADG for T2 was higher (P < 0.05) at week 5 after 1 week of restriction, than T1 and T3. The feed conversion ratio was significantly higher in T3 after 2 weeks of restriction. In T2 and T3, feed intake was significantly lower than in birds fed ad libitum at week 4 at the start of the treatment. There was no significant effect on the relative weights of heart weights, liver, gizzard, feet, and heads among the treatment groups except for intestine weight which was lower (P < 0.05) in T1 than T2 and T3. It was concluded that broilers that were restricted for one week had a positive result in growth performance. Feed restriction had minimal effect on the organ weights of broiler chickens.

Average Daily Gain, Body Weight Gain, Broilers, Feed Conversion Ratio, Feed Restriction, Duration

Gobane, Z. , Goni, S. , Chikwanda, D. and Zhou, L. (2021) The Effect of Quantitative Feed Restriction Duration on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chickens. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 11, 635-645. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2021.114043.