20th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition | 24–27 August 2015 | Prague, Czech Republic IMPROVING BROILER PERFORMANCE THROUGH BREEDER NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT

Recent research on the subject of maternal nutrition has focused largely on the effects of vitamins, antioxidants, and most recently the complex interactions of dietary macronutrients (energy and protein) on economically important broiler traits: primarily growth rate and breast meat yield. Vitamin E and organic Se show great promise for improving hatchability and chick health. Recommendations for ideal maternal levels of dietary protein and energy are not as clear. The concept of ideal protein has greatly advanced the discipline of livestock nutrition, and it is likely that a quest for an optimal ratio of dietary energy to ideal protein will simplify our understanding of maternal nutrition. The fit of published research on maternal dietary energy and protein levels, ratios, and intakes are tested against several hypotheses. The most consistent alignment is with regard to the relationship between low maternal protein intake and progeny fatness. Lack of congruency with other hypotheses underscores a need for further research. It is clear that a more strategic approach is needed to improve understanding of this multifaceted question. Rather than studying offspring performance as an afterthought, experimental designs must prioritize discovery of the impact of maternal nutrition on offspring performance. Combined with carefully executed control of breeder experiments to reduce variation in breeder feed allocation, and thoughtful standardization of hen age, egg handling, incubation, hatching, and brooding conditions, carefully considered experiments will add greater value to our knowledge of transgenerational effects of maternal nutrition.