Poultry Nutrition by Steve Watson

When chicks are first hatched they are put onto a feed known as starter feed, this is where feed intake at its lowest.

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Once chicks reach around 14-16 days old they will then be transitioned onto a grower feed. This change will include the feed going from crum to more of a pellet type feed.

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Finally at an age of around 25 days of age the broilers will be put onto a finisher feed. This provides them with maximum nutrition they need to help finish them.

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Feed ingredients of broiler diets should be fresh and of high quality both in terms of digestibility of nutrients and physical qualities

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broilers require energy for tissue growth, and activity. The major source of energy in poultry usually occur from cereal grains primarily carbohydratess

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Fibre

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A minimum fibre level of 5% is recommended from POL onwards

ME Level

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Free Range diets should have a ME level of 11.7MJ/kg

Fibre

2024-02-20 11:29:04 UTC

A minimum fibre level of 5% is recommended from POL onwards

Limestone

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Coarse limestone (1.5mm – 3.5mm) has the advantage that it remains in the gizzard and is released overnight, when the highest calcium demand of a laying hen occurs

Layer Phases

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Nutrition and so feed changes depending on the phase of laying

Layer Phase 1 (Daily Egg Mass of 57g+)
Layer Phase 2 (by approx. 50 weeks)
Layer Phase 3 (by approx. 60 weeks)

Non-Cage Systems

2024-02-20 11:37:20 UTC

While several studies have determined that hens kept in non-cage systems, such as organic, barn or free-range production, require an additional 10–15% more energy, hens may compromise egg production so as to meet their energy demands and, therefore, the expected egg output is reduced (Tiller 2001; Aerni et al. 2005; Leenstra et al. 2012; Leinonen et al. 2012; MacLeod 2013).

Intake

2024-02-20 11:39:44 UTC

Laying hens are able to adjust their feed intake, to some degree, according to their energy requirements. Hens reduce feed intake when dietary energy increases. In contrast, if dietary energy content is too low, layers are unlikely to increase their feed intake sufficiently to overcome the deficit (Leeson and Summers 2009)

Disease Burden

2024-02-20 11:43:12 UTC

The increased disease burden experienced by free-range hens may increase their requirement for amino acids to support an upregulation of the immune response (Klasing 2007)