Effect of Feeding a Reduced-protein Diet Supplemented with Crystalline Amino acids to Broiler Breeders during Post-molt on Performance, Reproductive, and Immune Responses

Document Type : Scientific - Research Articles

Authors

H. Karbalai Babai

Abdol Karim Zamani Moghadam

Fariborz Khajali

10.22067/ijasr.v4i2.15135

Abstract

One experiment was conducted with a total of 2000 broiler breeders (Lohman strain) at 74 weeks of age, which lasted for 10 weeks. Birds were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments varying in dietary crude protein (CP). The reduced-CP diet had dietary CP level approximately 1.5 percentage units lower than the control (15.5 vs 14.0%). By supplementing 0.13 and 0.1% of DL-methionine and L-HCl-lysine to the reduced-CP diet, respectively, the sulfur amino acids to lysine ratio was kept similar between the control and the reduced-CP diet. Data were subjected to one-way ANOVA in a completely randomized design with 2 treatments and 4 replicates. Results showed that egg shell thickness, hatchability, and the Hemagglutination Inhibision (HI) response against New Castle and Influenza from reduced-CP group were not significantly different from the control group. Hen-day egg production was also remained unchanged throughout the experiment. Nevertheless, it was numerically higher in the low-protein group than the control group. In conclusion, egg production, hatchability and the immune response of broiler breeders can be maintained on a reduced-CP diet (90% of the industry norm) when the contents and ratio of sulfur amino acids to lysine kept constant.

Keywords

Broiler breeder

Egg shell quality

Hatchability

Protein

Supplemental amino acids

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