The Effects of Early Feed Restriction on Growth Performance, Internal Organs and Blood Biochemical Indicators of Broilers

The growth rate of broiler chickens has increased greatly due to enhancement in genetics, nutrition and management. However, the high growth rate of broilers has caused many health problems, To avoid those problems, feed restriction was used as a management strategy to prevent excessive growth during early period. This study accessed the effects of early feed restricted on growth performance, internal organs and blood biochemical indicators of broilers. A total of 180 male Arbor Acres broilers were obtained and randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups. The treatments included control group (basal diet and feed restricted group (dietary energy and protein levels were diluted by 10%). At 14 d, two birds of each replicate were randomly chosen, wing vein blood samples were taken for blood biochemical indicators determination, then slaughtered to measure internal organs. The result showed that birds fed diluted feed had lower ( P<0.05) body weight at 14 days. There was no significant difference in body weight between restricted and control groups at 42 days. No changes were observed in feed intake and feed conversion ratio between groups. Feed restriction also had no significant effects on internal organs, intestine and serum biochemical indicators. Taken together, this study suggested that dietary protein and energy diluted by 10% from 8 to 14 d is a suitable feeding program.