Nutrient requirements of meat chickens (broilers)

Frida y, 20th August 2010

Broiler chickens

Nutrient requirements of meat chickens (broilers)

The intake of nutrients is a function of the amount of feed eaten and the nutrient levels in the diet.

Feed consumption and body weight

There are a number of factors that influence voluntary feed intake. These are discussed in the section on Feed intake. Table 1 provides data on typical feed consumption and bodyweight for modern broiler chickens in relation to age and sex. Table 1. Bodyweight and cumulative feed consumption for male and female broilers (g)
Age (we eks) 0 1 M ale Ma le Fem ale Fema le

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Bodyweight
40 170

Cumulative Feed Intake

0 150

Bodyweight
40 165

Cumulative Feed Intak e

0 145

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

450 865 1410 2250 2700 3350 3900 4400

480 1120 2020 3200 4500 6000 7400 8800

420 780 1250 1750 2300 2800 3300 3700

460 1030 1825 2830 4020 5400 6800 8200

Source: Poultry CRC

Nutrient levels for broiler diets

Feeding strategies for broiler chickens will vary depending on the target market for the final product. Strategies for feeding broilers destined for the whole bird market will differ from strategies for broilers destined to be sold as pieces. Furthermore, the nutrient intake of fast growing broilers must be carefully controlled to prevent metabolic diseases such as ascites and leg weakness. Table 2 provides data on typical levels of selected nutrients for broiler diets.

Broiler chicks Table 2. Examples of broiler diets

Nutrie nts Age fed Crude protein (%) ME (MJ/kg) ME (kcal/kg) Total Arginine (%) Digestible Arginine (%) Total Lysine (%) Digestible Lysine (%) Total Methionine (%) Digestible Methionine (%) Total Methionine +Cystine (%) Digestible Methionine +Cystine (%) Total Threonine (%) Digestible Threonine (%) Total Trypophan (%) Digestible Tryptophan (%) Total Valine (%) Digestible Valine (%) Calcium (%) Starter 0-10 22-25 12.60 3010 1.48 1.33 1.44 1.27 0.51 0.47 1.09 0.94 0.93 0.80 0.25 0.22 1.09 0.94 1.0 Grower 11-24 21-23 13.30 3175 131 1.18 1.25 1.10 0.45 0.42 0.97 0.84 0.82 0.70 0.22 0.19 0.96 0.83 0.90 Finisher 25-slaughter 19-21 13.50 3225 1.11 1.00 1.05 0.92 0.39 0.36 0.83 0.72 0.71 0.61 0.19 0.17 0.81 0.70 0.85

Available phosphorous (%) Sodium (%)

0.50 0.16

0.45 0.16

0.42 0.16

Source: Ross Broiler Management Manual 2009 (PDF)