Effect of Feed Withdrawal on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Heat Stressed Broiler Chicken

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of feed
withdrawal at different ages during the hottest summer days on the
growth performance and some carcass traits of broiler chicken. One
hundred thirty five male chicks at 14 days of age (DOA) with average
body weight (375 g/bird) were randomly allotted to three treatments with
three replicates each. The treatments consisted of the control (no feed
withdrawal), early feed withdrawal (EFW) at the fourth week of age and
late feed withdrawal (LFW) at the fifth week of age. The treatments were
assigned to a completely randomized design. The experiment lasted for
five weeks having one week as a transitional period, and it was terminated
at 49 DOA. The feed withdrawal duration was two weeks for each group.
Feed withdrawal was undertaken from 10:00 am till 7:00 pm. Feed intake
and live body weight were recorded weekly. Feed conversion ratio (FCR)
and the cumulative mortality rate were calculated. Some physical and
chemical analyses were carried out for some carcass parts (drumstick and
thigh). The abdominal fat pad (AFP) was removed and weighed. The
LFW group significantly (P ≤ 0.05) consumed the highest amount of feed,
whereas the EFW group consumed the least amount. The cumulative
mortality rate was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower for LFW and EFW, and
the control group recorded the highest rate. At 49 DOA, live body weight
was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) the highest for the LFW group, whereas the
other groups recorded similar body weights. The overall FCR was
significantly (P ≤ 0.05) the best for LFW group, whereas the control had