Posthatch feeding and early development in broiler chicks

Abstract

For the last ten years, early nutrition of new bornchicks has attracted increasing interest due to its long term effects on broiler performances. Residual yolk is quickly resorbed. It represents a small contribution(1 day) to nutritional requirements induced by the intensive growth of digestive organs and function and of the pectoral muscle during the two to three days post-hatch. Hatching and transportation procedures delay the feeding of chicks by 10 to 60 hours from one individual to another. Several published studies conclude that this starvation at a critical moment may have long lasting negative effects on growth and immune response of chicks. The few published studies on early life nutrition suggest that regular diet might be too rich in lipids and too poor in proteins. Moreover, it is necessary to slow down growth between one and three weeks of age in order to reduce leg and metabolic disorders later on. Nutritional tuning for young broilers might includethree phases: an early stimulation during the first week, a mild restriction from one to three weeks, followed by a predominantly economic oriented optimisationafter three weeks of age. Within such a pattern, the effects of early stimulation by an earlieror/and wiser feeding of chicks on meat quality and overall performances require precise quantification.