Feeding of Poultry» Poultry production mostly depends on the types, source and quality of feed, which accounts for the major share of the cost of poultry raising. * Feed represents about 70 per cent of the total cost of egg production and 55 per cent of the cost of broiler production. ° Therefore, efficiency in feeding is one of the key factors for successful poultry production. * One must include all the essential nutrients in order to obtain a profitable rate of growth or egg production.Feeding Standards for Poultry Nutritive Requirement of Broilers (NRC, 1994) Nutrient Broilers 0-3 weeks | 3-6 weeks | 6-8 weeks ME (keal/kg) | 3200 3200 3200 CP % 23 20 18 Linoleic acid | 0.88 0.91 0.91 % Lysine % Lt 1.02 0.85 Methionine % | 0.5 0.38 0.30 Calcium % 1.00 0.9 0.8Se eutritive Reauirement C= Nutritive Requirement (NRC, 1994) Nutrient Starter Grower Pre-layer Layer (0-6 wk) (6-12 wk) (12-18 wk) | (>18 wk) ME (kcal/kg) | 2850 2850 2900 2900 CP % 18 16 15 17 Linoleic acid | 1 : 1 1 % Lysine % 0.93 0.72 0.70 0.70 Methionine % | 0.45 0.34 0.40 0.40 Calcium % 0.9 08 0.8 2.0Nutrient requirement Broiler and Layer - BIS 2007 Broiler Layer Pre Starte | Finishe | Chic | Growe | Layer | Layer starte |r r k r Phase | Phase £ 1 2 Moisture 1.0 {11.0 11.0 11.0 | 11.0 11.0 1.0 (Max) CP (Min) 23 22 20 20 16 18 16 ME (kcal/kg) | 3000 |3100 | 3200 2800 | 2500 2600 2400 EE (Min) 3.0 3.5 4.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 CF (Max) 5.0 5.0 5.0 7.0 9.0 9.0 10.0 AIA (Max) 2.5 25 2.5 4.0 |4.0 4.0 45 Ca (Min) {1.0 1.0 1.0 {1.0 10 3.0 35013 rient requirement of Broiler - ICAR Nutrient White Coloured o-14d 14-21d 21-42d o-21d 21-42d ME (kcal/kg) | 3000 3050 3100 2950 3050 CP % 22 21.5 19.5 21.6 20 Lysine % 12 1.07 0.94 1.07 0.98 a 0.52 0.48 0.41 0.48 0.40 Calcium % 10 0.95 0.85 1.0 0.85Common feed stuffs for poultryEnergy feeds - The energy feeds form 70-75 per cent of the poultry diet - further subdivided as high energy and low energy feeds. ° The high energy feed ingredients are rich in energy and include about 50-55 per cent of total ration.Alternative Energy Sources Cereals and milling by-products » Wheat middlings Rice screenings Roots and tubers « Cassava (manioc) roots, sweet potatoes, taro, yams Fruits and by-products e Banana and plantain, breadfruit, dates Miscellaneous ¢ Molasses (by-product of sugar cane industry) ¢ Fats (palm oil, coconut oil, animal fats)—_—_———— Protein feeds * provide protein for growth and egg production. ° form 25-30 per cent of the poultry ration and sub grouped as vegetable protein feeds and animal protein feeds. e Soybean meal, ground nut meal, cottonseed meal, linseed meal are vegetable protein feeds. + Fish meal, blood meal, meat cum bone meal, and liver meal are animal protein feeds.Mineral and vitamin supplements * The calcium supplements commonly used in poultry feeding are limestone, crushed sea shells or sea shell flour. » Lime stone powder can be included upto 3 per cent. -To meet the phosphorus need of poultry, formulation must be supplemented with inorganic phosphorus sources.» Common salt is included in all diets as a source of sodium and an appetite stimulant. » Salt is added in poultry diets at levels of 0.2 to 0.5 per cent.Non nutritive additives « Enzymes, antibiotics, coccidiostats, pigments, antioxidants, antifungals, prebiotics, probiotics, organic acids, botanicals etc. are examples of non nutritive additives.METHODS OF FEEDING—— SSS Whole grain feeding system ° by this method birds are allowed to have their required ingredients kept them in separate containers. * This old and abandoned system offers no particular advantage.Grain and mash method ° This method is slightly better than the previous one. It involves feeding of grain mixture along with balanced mash. » By this, one can increase or decrease the protein level as desired. * Unless the poultry man is exceptionally skilled, the method will lead to bad performance.All mash method eIn this method of feeding, all the feed ingredients are ground, mixed in required proportion and feed as a single balanced mixture. * By this, birds cannot have the opportunity to have selective eating and more ever the quality of eggs produced are of uniform quality.Pellet method * Pellet are made of dry mash under high pressure. » These are quite hard and cylindrical shape and are being extensively used in western countries. ° The greatest advantage in using pellets is that there is little waste in feeding. * The disadvantage is that pellet are expensive- about 10% expensive than that of feed not pelleted.Crumble form » When pellets are coarsely ground or preferably run through special cracking roll, a type of product midway between mash and _ pellets results. e Crumbles can also feed from day old chicks.Feeding systems for poultry (a) Ad-libitum feeding: also called free choice feeding. Feed is always available and the bird can eat at their will. (b) Controlled feeding/force feeding: It is some time attempted for a short while in first week when broilers do not learn or try to pick their feed. (c) Restricted feedingRestricted feeding e The method involves restrictions of feeding pullets during 6-20 week of age instead of ad libitum feeding as is practiced at present in most poultry farm. e Reduction in feed cost, delayed sexual maturity but improved egg production curve, along with a reduction in the number of small eggs laid are more advantages of this system.EE » Feed restriction to birds can be made by a number of ways, viz. (1) Skip a-day programme (2) Reduced feed intake or diluting with fibrous material of low nutrient density (3) restriction of feeding timeFeeding various categories of poultrySe... Early feeding » For the first three or four days, feeder should be filling to the top. Place extra feed on new, clean egg flats or cut- down chick boxes at several locations around the hover. ° When birds have learned to eat, remove extra feeding stations and lower the level of feed in the feeders.| Early feeding » Avoid feed wastages by keeping feeders less than half full. ° Supply fresh feed two or three times a day. ¢ Sprinkle a small amount of chick size grit on top of the feed for the first few daysFeeding the growing pullet » Change from chick mash to growing mash from 8th week onward and continue up to 20 weeks. « Adequate feeder space is required to enable all birds to eat at one time.¢ Put feeders in all parts of the growing house or spread them well over the range. » Always provide enough feeders so all birds can eat at the same time. e Put the feeders as high as the chicken back. * This helps to prevent feed wastage and to keep the litter out of the feeder.Feeding laying hens Feed should be kept before the layers at all times in suitable feeders. e Ample feeding and watering space should be provided. e age feeding of layers is similar to that of floor birds except a higher per cent of calcium is included in the mash since the birds do not have access to calcium grit in separate containers as in case of floor birds* Calcium sources such as grit and fresh drinking water should be available to the layers all the times. * Feeds wastage can be prevented by never allowing the feeders to be filled to more than 1/ 3rd of their capacity.* Thickness of egg shell can be influenced by calcium and vitamin D consumed by hen. « Manganese and Zinc are also essential to shell formation but properly formulated laying rations are seldom low in these minerals.e Addition of vitamin C has some beneficial effect upon shell quality during hot weather. « A laying ration should contain source of dietary pigments such as yellow maize, Lucerne meal and maize gluten meal for better yolk colour.Phase Feeding Followed during laying phase * Phase feeding refers to change in the protein level of laying diet during normal production cycle. » Such changes are designed to regulate the intake of dietary protein to meet more closely the hen’s requirement at various stages of egg production. Reduce feed cost and also to help to maintain the egg size.» The level of protein in layer ration may be reduced to 17,16,15% on 90,75 to 90 and 65 to 75% of egg production , respectively, keeping the feed intake at 100 g level per day per bird. « In this the production cycle is divided into three stages (popularly called phases): Phase-I + Phase-II + Phase-IIIPhase-| - During the first phase of 20 weeks period from the age of 22 weeks to 42 weeks, the birds are expected to reach from zero to peak egg Production of 85 percent or so. * This further accompanied into increase in body weight by 500g and increase in size of eggs from 40 to 60 g. Therefore, the first phase of reproduction is critical for maximum egg production and_ tissue development. * Thus energy content of poultry rations should be adjusted to supply required quantity of protein.Phase-I| ¢ It is the period from 42 weeks of age to 62 weeks when hens have attained mature body weight and egg production and has not gone below 60 percent level. ¢ The eggs produced are larger and efficiency of protein utilization is approximately 56 percent during this phase.Phase-II| + It ranges from 62 weeks to 76 weeks of age or till the spent out birds are discarded. ¢ During this phase egg production is less than 60 percent. Phase feeding can be applied for energy restriction. ° The energy requirement for laying hens varies from 310 kcal ME/day in severe winter to 265 kcal in summer.i _________ Feeding broilers » The broiler should be fed for early rapid growth by use of high energy, high protein rations. » The feed should be kept before the birds at all times with all night lights on. » Raise the feeder height from the litter gradually as the birds grow. * Feeding three or four times each a day will stimulate feed intake and prevent waste.Following steps are taken to avoid feed wastage 1. Fill the feeder no more than 1/3rd full. 2. Use the feeders designed to prevent feed wastage. 3. Keep out rats and birds. 4. Keep the feed dry. 5. Use storage bins.6. Storage only a month's supply of mixed feed. 7. The height of the feeder should be adjusted so that one top lip of the feeder is as high as the back of the bird.Guidelines for feed formulationCrude fibre * The incorporation of fibrous feeds in poultry mash should be as such a level so that the upper limit of crude fiber does not go beyond 6-8% in compounded mash.Essential amino acids and fatty acids These are very important nutrient to be supplied in poultry diet for proper growth and egg production. « Essential amino acid (lysine and methionine) and fatty acids (linoleic acid) are supplied through a requisite inclusion of fish meal, meat meal, liver meal etc. in mash.Vitamins « B-complex vitamins (B1' B2 and B12) are needed to be supplied in the diet since they are not synthesized in avian gastro-intestinal tract. « Besides, vitamin A and Dg are also supplemented in practical rations.———EEEEE_=_—_—_—==S Minerals » They are supplemented in the form of limestone, bone meal grit ete. because the concentrates normally fed to birds are poor source of calcium which they require in considerable amount for growth and laying . » Besides, some organic sources of phosphorus (dicalcium phosphate, bone meal), and manganese and zinc as their sulphates or carbonates are also supplemented.Antibiotics and coccidiostat * Terramycin, Aureamysin or penicillin and Bifuran, Embazine or amprol are used as feed supplements. ° They tend to increase growth rate and feed utilization besides their disease preventive or curative effectsPigmentation agents - Some source of xanthophylls (maize, leucerne/ berseem leaf meal, sunflower, meal etc.) should be included in mash for developing desirable yellow colour of skin, shanks and beak in broilers and egg yolk in layers.Feed additives for PoultryAntibiotic as growth promoter (AGP): used in poultry feed continuously at a lower level to improve growth and feed conversion and not for the purpose of any therapeutic reasons. * commonly used as growth promoters include Bacitracin, Penicillin, Virginiamycin, Flavomycin, Chlortetracycline, Oxyteracycline.Probiotics live microbial feed supplements which are used ¢ for balancing the microbial population in the intestine through the production of various compounds. * competitive exclusion and displacement of pathogens from enterocytes, as well as maintenance of gut pH and thereby improving the health and immune status of the birds.Prebiotics ¢ Supplementation of the diet with small fragments of carbohydrates (such as oligosaccharides) * The commercially available prebiotic products mainly including oligosaccharides of galactose, fructose or mannose viz., galacto- oligosaccharides (GOS), mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) and fructo- oligosaccharides (FOS).EE — Organic acids « the use of organic acids elicits a positive response in performance of broiler growth * formic, lactic, propionic, citric, sorbic and phosphoric acids optimizes the balance of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract » lower the pH, at which the activity of proteases and beneficial bacteria is optimized and proliferation of pathogenic bacteria is minimized by a direct antibacterial effect destroying their cell membranesExogenous enzymes * include Non-Starch Polysaccharides (NSP) degrading enzymes, proteases and phytase that would help in better utilization and reduction in environmental pollution.Herbs as growth promoters ¢ Natural medicinal products originating from herbs, spices and their products including essential oils have been used as feed additives in poultry production. ¢ Garlic, Turmeric, Thyme, Aloe vera, onion, Ginger etc., are some of the major plant additives which have been extensively reported in poultry feed for enhanced growth effect in broiler and better egg production in laying hensAntioxidants e Antioxidants exert beneficial health effects by protecting the biologically important cellular components, like cell membrenal lipids, DNA, cellular proteins, etc., from reactive oxygen species e Dietary antioxidants have a beneficial effect in lowering the oxidative status of the meat.THANK YOU