DOI: 10.36347/sjavs.2015.v02i02.006

Pages: 108-111

An experiment was conducted with an objective to study the effects of feed restriction on the performance of broiler chicken. Total of 96, Indian River strain, unisex broiler day old chicks were distributed into four experimental units in a complete randomized design. The birds in the control treatment were fed ad libitum throughout the experimental period and the birds in other three treatments were fed restricted by withdrawing the feed for 3 hours (9 a.m. to 12 p.m), 5 hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m) and 7 hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m), respectively from day 10 to day 30. Each diet was fed to 24 birds in three replicates. The body weights and feed consumption were recorded weekly and the body weight gains and feed conversion ratio were calculated. Three birds from each replicate were used for the measurement of organ size on day 41. The average weight of the day-old chicks was 50 g. The results revealed that the growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens were not affected by the feed restriction for 3, 5 and 7 hours. However, significantly higher relative gizzard weights were observed in the birds fed restricted for 3 hours and 5 hours while significantly highest relative liver weight was observed in the birds fed ad libitum.