Altering dietary electrolyte balance on performance of broilers under local conditions

A feeding trial was conducted to study the effect of varying dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) on the performance of broilers. 240 day-old straight run chicks (Vencobb) were divided into six treatments with four replicates in each and were fed isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets containing 180, 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 mEq/kg of DEB. The maximum, minimum temperature and the relative humidity inside the pen during experimental period were 36.7°C, 28.9°C and 52.4 per cent, respectively. Performance of birds in terms of weekly weight gain, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio, water intake, litter moisture percentage, mortality percentage, carcass characteristics and haematological parameters of each treatment was recorded. The weight gain and feed efficiency of birds fed 220 mEq/kg and above were comparable and better than lower levels. Feed intake was not influenced by different DEB levels. Water intake and Water: feed intake ratio increased linearly with the increasing level of DEB in the diet and they were 9.33 vs 7.99 L and 2.83 vs 2.49 in 280 and 180 mEq/kg fed birds respectively. The litter moisture was significantly higher (34.1 and 37.3 per cent) in 260 and 280 mEq/kg fed birds than the lower levels (23.0 to 28.3 per cent) of DEB. Mortality of 7.5 per cent due to heat stress was observed at fifth and sixth weeks of age in 180 and 200 mEq/kg of DEB fed birds but the same at higher DEB levels was less (5% per cent in 240, 260 and 280 mEq/kg and nil in 220 mEq/kg). The dressing percentage and weight of breast, thigh, abdominal fat and edible internal organs-gizzard, heart, liver (as percentage of live weight), and thyroid gland weight were not influenced by the various levels of DEB. The blood haemoglobin, packed cell volume, serum sodium and potassium and tibial ash content were comparable in the different levels of DEB fed birds. DEB levels of 220 mEq/kg and above resulted in comparable feed cost/kg live weight which was better than that for birds fed 180 and 200 mEq/kg of DEB.