TITLE:
Age and Gender Dependent Deposition of Crude Nutrients and Energy in Fast Growing Meat-Type Chickens
AUTHORS:
Christian Wecke, Frank Liebert
KEYWORDS:
Growing Chickens, Growth Performance, Feed Deprivation, Empty Body Mass, Nutrient Deposition, Energy Deposition, Feather Protein Deposition, Age, Gender
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.9 No.1,
December
21,
2018
ABSTRACT: Two
consecutive growth studies were conducted to investigate the age-dependent nutrient and energy deposition in male and female
meat-type chickens (Ross 308) based on
feather and feather-free body fraction data determined according to the comparative slaughter technique. Birds were reared under
standardized housing conditions (15 floor pens per gender, 5 birds per pen).
Both the starter (day 1 to 22) and grower diets (day 22 to 36) were based on
corn, wheat, soybean meal, soybean protein concentrate and crystalline feed
amino acids. Diets were formulated to ensure an equal feed protein quality
close to the ideal amino acid ratio by adjusting a constant mixture of the feed
proteins. Individual body weight (BW) and feed intake per pen were recorded
weekly. At the start (day 1) as well as on a weekly basis until the end of the
5th week, 15 birds per gender (each
3 pens of 5 birds) were selected and euthanized following 24 h feed deprivation.
Subsequently, the feathers were manually removed and quantified. Crude nutrient
analysed in representative samples of both feather and feather-free body fractions. The nutrient and energy deposition in the bodies of
both genders were significantly increased with increasing age (p . Male birds deposited significantly higher body
protein (p and female birds significantly more fat and energy
in the whole body (p during the entire growth period. In contrast, no
differences were found in protein contents of the BW gain between genders
dependent on age (p > 0.05). However, the protein partitioning in the gain of
both analyzed body fractions provided oppositional results. Accordingly, male
birds yielded relatively more protein in the feather-free body fraction (p and females relatively more feather protein (p as related to the whole body protein gain.