Broiler Chickens Performance in Response to Early Feeding

In last several decades, a typical broiler chicken took 16 weeks to reach the suitable slaughter weight; in terms of reducing the rearing period to make priority in advances in nutrition, this reducing in rearing period could increase critical first week of life compared with next coming weeks. Nowadays, shortening of the rearing period could make a more priority than last decades for broiler producers. Early post-hatch feeding is the most critical stage during chicken life. Four treatments were arranged in the first 48-h post-hatch containing: corn, corn plus soybean meal (2:1 respectively), prestarter diet and 48 h fasting treatment. The results of this study have shown desirable performance by early past-hatch feeding in comparison to other treatments at the end of rearing period.