D. J. Latshaw 1
M. Toussant
The Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences
An experiment was designed to determine the amount of energy that was used for maintenance each day by male broiler chickens. They were reared on litter and fed a nutritionally adequate diet free choice until the average weight was about 1.45 kg. Fifty-two broilers of intermediate weight were selected. They were randomly assigned to individual cages (45) or to an initial control group (7). All of the broilers in cages were then fed the same complete feed as pellets. Forty-two of the broilers were fed limited amounts of feed each day, ranging from 102 to 230 kcal of metabolizable energy (ME) per kg of metabolic body weight (W.66). The remaining three were fed free choice. Broilers fed 111 kcal ME/W.66, or less, and those fed free choice continued on experiment for 11 days. The remaining chickens were fed for 19 days. While on experiment, data were collected for the determination of ME. Plastic was fastened under each cage for a total excrement collection from two days. Feed consumption was determined for the same two days. The energy content of the feed was 3.07 kcal ME per gram, and the ME was not affected by the amount of energy allotted per day (P = 0.75). All of the broilers were euthanized, the initial control group at the beginning of the experiment and the others after feeding the appropriate length of time. The whole bird was ground to a homogenous mass and approximately 100 g was dried. Energy in the dried material was determined by bomb colorimetry. Energy balance, or daily energy used for maintenance, was calculated to be 142 kcal ME W.66.
1For more information, contact at: The Ohio State University, 230 Plumb Hall, 2027 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210; 614-688-3238; fax: 614-292-7116; e-mail: latshaw.1@osu.edu