Effect of Feeding Different Level of Dietary Energy at Finishers Phase on the Performance of Broiler Chicken in Hot Dry Season

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the response of broiler chickens (Marshall strain) to different dietary energy levels. Four experimental diets containing 2800, 2900, 3000, and 3100 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy (ME) with 21% crude protein were prepared. A total of 200 broiler chickens were randomly divided into four treatment groups, each replicated five times with 10 birds per replicate. The results showed that daily feed intake was not significantly different between treatments 1 and 2, but differed significantly with treatments 3 and 4. Significant differences were observed in average daily dietary energy levels, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and cost of feed across the treatments. However, no significant differences were found in average daily gain and water intake. The study revealed that treatments 3 and 4 (3000-3100 kcal/kg ME) resulted in better performance parameters, indicating that these dietary energy levels are suitable for optimal performance of broiler chickens in a semi-arid environment. The results also showed that feed cost per kilogram weight gain was significantly different across the treatments, indicating that the most cost-effective diet should be selected based on the production goals and market conditions. Overall, the study provides valuable information on the nutritional requirements of broiler chickens in a semi-arid environment and highlights the importance of optimizing dietary energy levels to achieve better performance and reduce production costs.