Response of broiler to skip a day (SAD) feeding

Abstract

One hundred and eighty day-old broilers were used to investigate the response of broilers to skip-a-day feeding regime. Broiler chicks were either fed ad libitium or subjected to 1,2,3,4 or 5 week skip-a-day feeding thereafter fed ad libitium to market age. Result at market age showed that feed intake was significantly reduced (P<0.05), P>0.025) while weight gain and feed to gain ratio were not significantly affected (P>0.05, P>0.025) by skip-a-day feeding. Skip-a-day feeding did not affect mortality of broilers (P>0.05), P>0.025). Protein retention, fat retention and fibre utilization were comparable for broilers in all treatments (P>0.05, P>0.025). Abdominal fat pad was significantly reduced (P<0.05, P<0.025) by the skip-a-day feeding when compared with ad libitium feeding. The economic data showed that cost of production was reduced (P<0.05, P<0.025) by the application of skip-a-day feeding. However cost to benefit ratio remained comparable (P>0.05, P>0.025) when the two feeding systems were compared. It was concluded that, if approximately applied, skip-a-day feeding could result in sufficient cost reduction to be of commercial importance.
Keywords: Skip-a-day (SAD) Feed intake, Weight gain, Cost to benefit ratio, Nutrient retention