-
Broiler feed
I need some clarification regarding a situation that has left me quite confused. <div>
</div><div>I was using a super starter broiler feed for my broiler birds, and they were doing amazingly well until the fourth week. At that point, I introduced finisher feed from the same company. Unfortunately, the birds started losing weight, and after about three to four days, they began to die. Initially, I suspected it might be Newcastle disease or Gumboro infection. What shocked me the most was that another batch of birds that I fed the same finisher feed also experienced the same issue, and their situation was even worse.</div><div>
</div><div>My question is: What could be going wrong?</div> -
6 Replies
-
Maybe the finisher has started growing rancid without you noticing.
-
This polite request for an alternative explanation allows for varied approaches to understanding complex concepts. “Can you please elaborate on what you mean by…?” Inviting speakers to provide more detail encourages thorough explanations, leaving less room for ambiguity
-
GOOD ONE
-
Feeding finisher feed after starter feed is not recommended.
-
First, it is not a good idea to feed the same type of feed to fast growing broilers for more than 2 weeks, or so. Their nutritional needs change so fast that 28 days on the same feed is not a good proposition from a physiological and nutritional point of view as well as from an economic return. As the density in nutrients is reduced from starter to finisher, the cost of the diet should also decrease. Thus, the faster birds can be changed to another diet the better growth performance and economic return is likely to occur. Without knowing details about necropsy or diet composition it is almost impossible to know what went wrong. If the mortality was high, above 10 or 20% in a matter of 3-4 days, it could be either a harsh viral infection that coincided with the change of feed and had no relation to the feed. Other potential explanations could be the presence of a potential contaminant, which can only be determined with chemical analysis of the feed; this can be very laborious and expensive. I am sorry about your situation with the birds, but it is very hard to point out exactly what happened.
-
Broiler are usually raised three phases,
Starter 0-7 or 10 days, Grower 10-21 or 25 days, Finisher 25-35 or 42 days.
Log in to reply.
