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Energy levels for broilers

  • Soya Meal
  • Published:
Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society

Abstract

One of the most important decisions to be made in feeding poultry is to determine the level of energy that will balance growth, carcass quality and efficiency of feed utilization with profitability of production. Strict adherence to measures of efficiency such as feed:gain ratios has caused many to overlook the potential benefits of modifying energy levels periodically to adjust to changes in price relationships among ingredients and in cost and quality of the finished product. It has been consistently shown that if an adequate quantity of essential nutrients is maintained in relationship to dietary energy, increasing levels of dietary energy for broilers results in a more rapid rate of gain and improvement in feed conversion efficiency. Controversy exists regarding the influence of dietary energy levels on carcass composition and quality, but in general, carcass fatness increases as dietary energy level increases. Selecting the optimum dietary energy level for broiler diets depends upon many factors, not all of which have been fully defined or quantitated. Higher energy levels may allow for more rapid gains or for a greater quantity of meat to be produced in a given time so that capital costs of housing, equipment and labor may be reduced. On the other hand, the ingredient and production costs of higher energy diets in contrast to diets of lower energy density may negate the benefits of improved performance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Animal Sciences, University of Arkansas, 72701, Fayetteville, AR

    P. W. Waldroup

Authors
  1. P. W. Waldroup
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Additional information

Published with the approval of the Director, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Waldroup, P.W. Energy levels for broilers. J Am Oil Chem Soc 58, 309–313 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02582365

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02582365

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