title: Selection for growth performance in broiler chickens associates with less diet flexibility.
abstract: Global competition for high standard feed-food resources between man and livestock, such as industrial broilers, is a concerning problem. In addition, the low productivity of scavenger chickens in developing countries leaves much to be desired. Changing the ingredients, and therefore, the nutrient composition of feed intake by commercial fed as well as scavenger chickens seems like an obvious solution. In this study, the ability of four broiler chicken breeds to perform on a commercial versus a scavenger diet was tested. The four broiler breeds differed genetically in growth potential. A significant (P < 0.01) negative effect of the scavenger diet on the bodyweight of the fast growing breeds was found and this effect decreased with decreasing growth rate in the other breeds. These differences in bodyweight gain could not be explained by differences in nutrient digestibility but were caused by the lack of ability of the fast growing breeds to increase their feed intake sufficiently.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Coopman
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cools
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joris
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Michiels
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biosciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fremaut
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Production, Ghent University, Melle, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stefaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Smet
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geert P J
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Janssens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D001947:Breeding; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development*; D004032:Diet; D004063:Digestion; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D016014:Linear Models; D008098:Litter Size