Effect of a Pre-starter diet on Broiler chicks Performance

Abstract

In Sudan the poultry feed cost about 70% of the total variable cost in the poultry industry. So in the last 10 years this industry is increased vertically and horizontally especially the broiler sector This experiment done in summer season, by used 120 one day old, unsexed Ross 308 chicks for 6 weeks, allotted randomly to three treatments with 4 replicates (10 chicks / replicate). Health of the experimental birds was closely observed An experiment was conducted to investigate the improvement in production parameters that occur as a consequence of feeding a pre-starter diet to one day old broiler chicks for the first 5days after hatching. Broiler chicks were fed imported pre-starter, locally prepared pre-starter or a starter diet (without pre-starter) as control diet. Body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined weekly 10 Hanafi.M.A. MSc.Thesis 2007 during the experimental period for 6 weeks. The present study confirms the importance of the first week of broiler life and further demonstrated the beneficial effects of feeding pre- starter diet to broiler chicks during the first 5 days, since the imported pre starter showed the highest body weight throughout the experimental period and significant (p<0.05) high gain during the last two weeks. The local prepared pre-starter showed a lower gain at early stage of growth, but at slaughter age confirm its beneficial effects and further proof the possibility of locally manufacturing pre-starters.