Feeding the Modern Broiler Breeder

The modern broiler breeder is more of a challenge to manage and feed than their predecessors.

The end user has demanded changes in the broiler that they will purchase that results in breeding companies putting pressure on various traits including but not limited to; growth rate, feed intake, breast meat yield and feed conversion ratio. Improved selection techniques and better analytical methods have resulted in significant gains in these areas. However, for the broiler breeder team this does mean that more attention must be applied to details in the rearing and production periods in management and nutrition.

Two main areas covered in this talk in the area of nutrition will be Energy and Amino Acids. Energy is the driving force behind egg production and so has to be handled properly if we are going to bring birds into production with the right amount of feed so that we get our egg numbers without contributing to abnormal eggs and mortality. The breakdown of energy for its various employments in this process will be explained as well as the importance of removing energy after peak production has been reached, but not before. The amino acid content of the diet is very dependent on the energy content so we have to understand this relationship before we can develop our production feeds.

The overall interrelationship between nutrition and management is no more apparent as when we try and determine the effect of temperature changes on broiler breeder energy needs. Broiler breeder production requires a concerted effort of all parties; production, feed milling, nutrition and farmer to make this a successful endeavor. It must be noted that even with increased genetic progress the egg production ability of the hens is still quite good, we only need a plan to reach this potential.