How to Improve the Fertility and Hatchability in Broiler Breeders

Hi Dr. Akbar Yaghbi:
Thank you for your comment about using insoluble fiber in rooster feed. I like to inform you it will be as the amount of sunflower or canola meal is allowed not more and will be used in combination with others like soybean meal and wheat bran. And because of this the amount of the insoluble will remind in acceptable percent that not interfere whit absorption of other nutrients like micro mineral as you mentioned.
Despite this refer you to ROSS recommend in using some material like sunflower and canola in AVIAGEN site in feeding broiler breeder.
And I like to inform you as Aviagen recommendation it is a long time I use them and obtain best result in rearing and production period, feather covering, fertility, hatchability and best chick quality not only in broiler breeder but also in layer breeder.
And you know that insoluble fiber in poultry nutrition is regarded as a nutrient and must be in feed formulation and has good effect in retention time and digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Dear Sandro Cerrate:
Thanks so much the article is very useful in practice usually I use canola meal or sunflower meal with soybean meal in rearing after 4 week of age and in production period in broiler breeder farm and calculate the amino acids as digestible according to genetic company recommendation and obtain tow good result :
1- The good feathering and persistency of feather in production period.
2- The good egg size that always is equal to genetic company or 1 gram below it.
Because of the effect of sodium deficiency in feather peaking calculate it to about 0.18% by using sodium bicarbonate in diet.
As you know formulation the feed for Rooster only with corn+soybean meal and wheat bran is wrong because of high soluble fiber in it, hence using canola or sunflower meal will facility to
formulate the Rooster diet and good fertility in them.
I agree white you the high level of lysine is detrimental for production and hatchability regardless of this reality that it is a ketogenic amino acid, high level of it will increase the size of breast of hens and mating with these hens will be difficult by Rooster because cloaks cant contact together and void of semen not occur.

Dear Dr. Cerrate. Very interesting article, thank you. I think the section on egg size and amino acid balance needs discussion. I agree that the ONLY way to achieve better results is to ensure the supply of balanced Standardised Digestible amino acids is correct. I disagree that lysine is the main driver of egg size; this is actually methionine + cysteine, the sulphur-containing amino acids (SAA). As most poultry diets are based on maize and soya, SAA are usually first limiting. Furthermore, the concept that there is a link between breast muscle growth and egg size is not correct. Finally, excess levels of lysine will NOT result in higher breast muscle growth. First, in a mature animal like a broiler breeder, muscle growth is primarily determined by genetics and activity, not nutrient supply; and second, as soon as any other amino acid becomes limiting, excess lysine will simply be de-aminated and excreted. The correct approach would be physical feed restriction or rebalancing all nutrients to a lower level.

Dear, Sandro Cerrate,

I fully agree with your statement that the ideal would be to work with different rations respecting the age and body weight of the rooster, this also serves for the female because the maintenance requirement will vary according to body weight and physical activities and in the case of female still producing eggs. However, in practice, this is almost impossible due to problems in the feed mill and logistics. I am saying this because I have worked with broiler breeders for over 30 years and worked as a Nutritionist for 11 years at one of the largest broiler and swine production companies in Brazil.
To answer the question from a colleague who wants to know about feed intake/rooster/day and nutritional levels in the period of production indicated:

Approximately 133 g of feed/rooster/day with 12.5% CP and 2,700 kcal of metabolizable energy in the diet.

I want to remember that my thesis was done with males and females in boxes (floor), therefore with natural mounts and with a ratio of 1 male to 10 females.

Dear Sandro Cerrate,

My name is Carlos Borges I am a Nutritionist and I work with consultancy ( C Borges Consultoria)here in Brazil.
My PhD thesis was on “Nutritional Requirements of Protein and Energy for Breeding Roosters in the Production Phase”
During the work that was quite long, because we worked with the roosters still in the breeding and before mating and we took the experiment until 62 weeks of age we reached the following conclusions:

- Currently, it is justified to use a specific diet for breeding males that meet the nutritional requirements of energy, protein and amino acids in the production phase.
- The lack or excess of protein for breeding roosters during the production period mainly affects the quality of the semen (motility and vigor) and decreases the fertility of the flock
- Excessive energy consumption increases the body weight of breeding roosters making them obese and, consequently, leading to both physical and mechanical infertility.

We evaluated the quantitative (volume and sperm concentration) and qualitative (motility and vigor) characteristics of semen from breeding rooster from 27 to 62 weeks of age, concluded that the consumption of 17 g of protein/rooster/day was the most adequate to supply the needs of breeding males in the production phase.
And the consumption of 360 kcal of metabolizable energy/rooster/day was enough to meet the energy requirements for broiler breeders in the same period.

It is important to note that the experiment was carried out in boxes with 1 rooster for 10 hens with natural breeding.