Philippine E-Journals

Growth Performance of Broilers Fed Micro-Pellet Booster Diet on the First Seven Days of Brooding

Thea Pamela S. Ponce | Veneranda A. Magpantay | Edwin S. Luis

Discipline: Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science

 

Abstract:

One hundred day-old broiler chicks were raised for 35 days to determine their growth performance when fed micro-pellet booster diet on the first week of brooding. Booster mash (BM) and micro pellet booster (MPB) were fed to two separate groups at brooding stage. Birds were fed similar diet thereafter. Production parameters were compared using t-test. Results showed that body weight and feed consumption were significantly better in broilers given MPB. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of MPB fed broiler was significantly better during the brooding stage compared to BM but FCR for the whole production cycle was unaffected. Likewise, livability and dressing percentage were not significantly different. Performance efficiency factor showed that MPB diet improved the grade but the difference was insignificant. Moreover, results of the proximate analysis of feeds indicated that the BM and MPB diets had different nutrient densities which could have affected the performance. Income over feed and chick cost was found to be 10% lower for broilers given MPB diet. Results showed that the use of MPB during the first seven days significantly increased the body weight and feed consumption. However, its use as a replacement to BM is proven to be uneconomical under Philippine condition.