Optimum Dietary Electrolyte Balance as Influenced by Phosphorus Level for Growing Broilers

Two main experiments and an auxiliary experiment were carried out to determine the effects of dietary available phosphorus and electrolyte balance on the growth performance and acid-base balance of broiler chickens. The results showed that mineral balance can affect the growth performance of broiler chickens fed practical-type diets in essentially commercial situations, and indicate that total cation-anion balance can have greater importance than electrolyte balance in Australian diets. Preliminary information on the effects of available phosphorus and electrolyte balance on acid-base balance indicated that this was not markedly affected within the range of cations and anions examined. Mortality and the incidence of leg disorders were increased in diets which contained high chloride levels (0.54%) and low electrolyte balance.