Strategies to combat the deleterious impacts of heat stress through feed restrictions and dietary supplementation (vitamins, minerals) in broilers

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the impacts of feed restriction (FR) for 3 hours and/or dietary supplementation with vitamins and minerals on growth, mortality rate, some carcass traits, and serum biochemistry indices of broiler chicks under heat stress in the open housing system. A total of 240 one-week old broilers were weighed and randomly assigned into 4 equal experimental treatments. Treatment 1 (T1) was fed ad libitum on basal diets, T2 birds were fed on basal diets with FR, T3 birds were fed ad libitum on basal diets with vitamin C (200 mg) + vitamin E (200 mg) + Cr (1.5 mg ) + Zn (100 mg) per kg diet, and T4 birds were fed on basal diets with FR and combined supplementation of vitamins and minerals. It was found that growth parameters improved in T2, T3, and T4, while the mortality rate was significantly reduced compared with control. FR and feed additives (T4) revealed marked increases in serum total protein and a decrease in total serum cholesterol. It was concluded that combined effect of FR and feed additives could significantly alleviate heat stress effects for broilers by improving growth performance and decreasing mortality rate.

Impact of Heat Stress on Poultry Health and Performances, and Potential Mitigation Strategies

“…In this practice, feed intake is reduced by withdrawing feed for a certain period (generally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) to reduce the metabolic rate of birds. Feed restriction is found to reduce rectal temperature, minimize mortality [ 37 , 38 ] and decrease abdominal fat [ 39 ] in heat-stressed broilers. Uzum et al [ 38 ] found that restricting the availability of feed to 8 h a day during the hot periods in broilers improved feed efficiency and shortened tonic immobility; a measure to determine fearfulness in which birds are placed on its back for observing righting reflex.…”

Nutritional strategies to support performance of commercial Pekin ducks exposed to a high-temperature thermal challenge over 29–41 days of age

“…Food digestion and the metabolic heat generated add significantly to the heat load of rapidly growing meat birds. Withdrawing feed (FW) during the hottest period of the day reduces metabolic rate, decreasing heat production, body temperature, mortality and abdominal fat in hightemperature challenged broiler chickens (Francis et al 1991;Abhu-Dieyeh 2006;Mohamed et al 2019). Removal of feed for a period of hours before or during a high-temperature challenge can improve performance of broiler chickens (Francis et al 1991;Ait-Boulahsen et al 1993;Hiramoto et al 1995;Mohamed et al 2019).…”

“…Withdrawing feed (FW) during the hottest period of the day reduces metabolic rate, decreasing heat production, body temperature, mortality and abdominal fat in hightemperature challenged broiler chickens (Francis et al 1991;Abhu-Dieyeh 2006;Mohamed et al 2019). Removal of feed for a period of hours before or during a high-temperature challenge can improve performance of broiler chickens (Francis et al 1991;Ait-Boulahsen et al 1993;Hiramoto et al 1995;Mohamed et al 2019). Other studies have reported poorer performance using this strategy (Lozano et al 2006;Abhu-Dieyeh 2006;Uzum and Toplu 2013).…”

Effect of L-Threonine Supplementation to Diet on Some Productive and Physiological of Traits Broiler Chickens Under Heat Stress Conditions

“…Also, the broiler production performance was affected negatively (Wasti et al, 2020). Furthermore, heat-stressed broilers have shown an increase in abdominal fat and a loss in carcass protein due to heat stress (Mohamed et al, 2019).…”