Supplementation of Feed Grade Sodium Bisulfate in Broiler Diets Improves Feed Efficiency

Versazyme supplementation of broiler diets improves market growth performance.

Day-old male broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 32 floor pens in a completely randomized block design and grown to 6 wk of age. Birds in experiment 1 were fed 1 of 2 basal diets supplemented with or without a protease containing feed additive, Versazyme (VZ). The 4 treatments were 1) control (C), a corn-soybean meal diet that contained 95% of amino acids recommended by NRC except for thre...

Feed Efficiency Opportunities with 2008 Feed Cost

With the milk to feed ratio at 2.36 in February, 2008, dairy managers must carefully reviewing feed inputs relative to milk yield. A milk to feed ratio under 3 is a signal to reduce feed inputs. Feed efficiency (also referred to as milk performance efficiency and dairy efficiency) can be defined as pounds of 3.5%FCM (fat corrected milk) produced per pound of dry matter (DM) consumed. Monitoring...

Priority Area Review : Feed Grains & Feed Efficiency

Preference of Broiler Chickens for Feed Color

   Studying broiler preference to feed color is important for improving comfort and welfare of broilers and it may be beneficial for improving performance. The aim of the first experiment was to examine day-old chick's preference in different light colors to different feed colors. One hundred and sixty Ross 308 newly hatched broilers, never exposed to feed, were allocated into pens illuminated ...

Variation in feed intake of broiler chickens

With many broiler diets, particularly wheat–based diets, rate of passage of digesta limits intake and growth. In many trials, the relationship between feed intake and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) was negative or insignificant. In some trials, the limitation to voluntary intake was so severe that negative relationships existed between it and FCR. This is a consequence of the diversion of ...