Growth Performance, Meat Yield, and Economic Responses of Broilers Fed Diets Varying in Metabolizable Energy from Thirty to Fifty-Nine Days of Age

Two studies examined responses of broilers to diets varying in AME from 30 to 59 d of age. A 59-d termination allows for evaluation of energy needs applicable to “big bird” programs, because research on nutritional needs for such programs is warranted. Two experiments were conducted: experiment (exp.) 1 having low temperatures whereas exp. 2 used moderate temperatures. The treatments in exp. 1 and 2 were AME concentrations ranging from 3,175 to 3,310 kcal/kg with CP, TSAA, and Lys being identical across all treatments. In exp. 2, an additional treatment consisted of a diet containing 3,310 kcal of AME/kg with CP, TSAA, and Lys being increased by 4% of those specifications used in the other treatments so as to minimize differences in energy:CP ratio. In both experiments, feed consumption and conversion decreased linearly as dietary AME increased, but breast meat yield was reduced with the high AME diet and only increasing amino acids in exp. 2 ameliorated the negative effect. Live production costs and gross feeding margin (bird return over feed costs) were optimized in exp. 1 with 3,220 kcal of AME/kg of diet, but 3,310 kcal of AME/kg of diet and increased amino acids were needed in exp. 2 for improved monetary returns. In both experiments, broilers had similar caloric consumption indicating that these broilers can compensate to varying dietary AME concentrations within practical limits. These results demonstrated that the response to dietary AME was more pronounced under moderate ambient temperatures.