Use of dietary ammonium sulfate in control of growth rate of broiler breeder replacement pullets from one day of age.
Meat-strain chicks were offered diets supplemented with graded levels of ammonium sulfate in Experiment 1 from 0 to 4 or 6 weeks of age and then received unsupplemented diets to 6 or 10 weeks of age. Levels of 13.8 or 27.6 g/kg of dietary ammonium sulfate reduced feed intake to 98 or 74% and restricted body weights to 90 or 72% of control values up to 6 weeks of age with no apparent diet-related mortality. In Experiment 2, meat-strain birds were fed ad libitum to 20 weeks of age. Starter and grower diets were supplemented with 13.8 or 27.6 g/kg ammonium sulfate to 12 weeks or 13.8 g/kg to 16 weeks of age. Control birds received unsupplemented diets, which were fed skip-a-day from 6 to 20 weeks of age. Birds receiving supplemented diets had lower feed intake and body weights initially but attained higher body weight at 20 weeks and experienced higher mortality. The number of settable eggs and other breeder parameters did not differ significantly between birds reared on supplemented and control rations. It was concluded that prolonged supplementation of diets with ammonium sulfate, to restrict growth rate, was not advantageous for meat-strain replacement birds.
D000645:Ammonium Sulfate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development*; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D009026:Mortality; D010058:Oviposition / Q000187:drug effects
D000645:Ammonium Sulfate