Early nutrition of broilers

• Grant number: 05/01746-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2005
• End date: September 30, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Lúcio Francelino Araújo
• Grantee: Lúcio Francelino Araújo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Four experiments will be carried out with the aim of evaluating the effects of the early nutrition in broiler chickens. The first experiment has the objective to evaluate the effect of time supplying of pre-starter diet to broiler chickens, on the performance parameters, carcass yield, and the histomorphologic characteristics of the duodenum. 1,600 birds randomly assigned will be used in a 2x4 factorial design (2 weights of one-day old chick: until 40 grams and more than 42 grams; 4 time supplying of pre-starter diet: 0, 1 to 7 days, 1 to 10 days and 1 to 14 days), totalizing 8 treatments with 5 replications of 40 birds each. The second experiment has the objective to evaluate the housing time and the supplying of posthatch diet to broiler chickens with different weights at hatch, on the performance parameters, carcass yield, the histomorphologic characteristics of the duodenum, and the measuring of the mitotic activity of breast muscle satellite cells of the birds with an immunohistochemistry method. 1,600 birds randomly assigned will be used in a 2x2x2 factorial design (2 weights of one-day old chick: until 40 grams and more than 42 grams; 2 posthatch diets: diet 1 with 8% CP and 16% carbohydrate and diet 2 with 10% CP and 20% carbohydrate; 2 feed restriction periods: 24 and 48 hours), totalizing 8 treatments with 5 replications of 40 birds each. In both experiments male birds of a commercial line of broiler chickens will be used. In the third experiment the effect of organic zinc in the in ovo nutrition of broiler chickens arising from broiler breeders with different ages will be analysed. 2,000 chicken embryo eggs randomly assigned will be used in a 4x2... (AU)