Effects of delayed post hatch feed intake on performance of broilers kept in cages

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of delayed feeding on performance of broilers housed in caging system. One hundred ninety two-d old Ross (308) broiler chicks were obtained from a local commercial hatchery. The chicks were randomly distributed to four treatments with 4 replicated of 12 each, and housed equipped with cages throughout the experiment (42d). The results showed that birds with 10h delayed access to feed in post hatch had higher (p<0.05) feed intake at slaughter age (42d) than those with 20, 30 and 40h, while body weight gain and final body weight were significantly decreased only in 30 and 40h delayed feeding. Significant differences were not found between the four delayed feeding treatments in the feed conversion rate. These results suggest that delayed access to feed up to 20h post hatch appears to be acceptable for growth at this study.