Download NUTRITION OF CHICKENS AND DIETARY DEFICIENCIES

NUTRITION OF CHICKENS AND DIETARY DEFICIENCIES
Establishing Nutritional Specifications Modern broiler, breeder and eggproduction flocks require diets balanced in essential nutrients to achieve
optimal reproductive efficiency, feed conversion, livability, and immune
response. Suppliers of stock provide printed management guides
incorporating nutrient specifications appropriate to the various ages and
types of poultry. Nutritionists satisfy dietary requirements by blending
available ingredients into diets on a least- cost basis. Generally, linear
programming is used to develop
Formulations containing the most critical nutrients. These include:
1-Energy
2-Crude protein
3-Essential amino acids with specific reference to:
-methionine
-cysteine
-lysine
-tryptophan
- Threonine
4-Fats and essential fatty acids (linoleic acid)
5-Macro Minerals
-sodium
-calcium
Magnesium
-potassium
-chlorine as chlorine
-phosphorus as phosphate
-sulphur as sulfate
6-Micro Elements
-copper
-cobalt
-manganese
-zinc
-selenium
-iron
-iodine as iodize salt
7-Vitamins
Nutrient Deficiencies
Causes of Nutrient Deficiencies
1-Diets may be erroneously formulated.
2-Biologica1 potency of specific vitamins or availability of minerals may
be sub- optimal.
3-Deficiencies may occur due to deletion of specified ingredients or
supplements from rations.
4-Destruction of nutrients can occur in feed due to oxidation.
5-Chemical antagonists in feed may increase the nutritional requirements
of nutrients.
6-The nutrient quality of ingredients may be depressed by excess
moisture, mold contamination or inappropriate processing.
Under commercial conditions multiple deficiencies often occur and signs
and lesions associated with suboptimal intake of a specific nutrient may
not be clearly defined.
Low Energy Intake
Most poultry will compensate for low energy density by consuming a
greater quantity of feed. Under conditions of feed restriction or extreme
competition, mature birds will lose weight and hens will show a decline
in both egg size and egg number. Male breeders will become infertility.
Growth rate of immature stock will be depressed. The effect of restricting
energy intake will be exacerbated by low environmental temperature or
improper management of brooding and ventilation systems during the
early growth phase. Flocks deprived of energy will show increased
susceptibility to infection.
Deficiencies of Proteins or Amino Acids
Low protein intake will depress growth rat feed conversion
efficiency immune response and reproductive efficiency. A deficiency in
lysine may occur in wheat and maize. Based diets and will result in
depressed growth rate and feed conversion efficiency in broilers.
Methionine deficiency in diets containing maize and soybean meal will
result in a low growth rate. Jn the case of filature flocks both egg size and
egg numbers will’reduceda it is emphasized that suboptimal levels of
essential amino acids will result in any specific clinical sign or lesion
other than a failure to attain accepted production standard sciences in
energy and essential amino acids will exacerbate the effects of viral
malabsorption syndrome and intestinal damage caused by coccidiosis or
endoparasites.