Abstract:
Choice feeding has been used to determine the requirements of some nutrients of poultry.
This study adopted the choice feeding method to determine the optimum dietary NaCl
level that maximizes the growth performance of broiler finishers. Forty days old broilers
(n=6o) were allocated into 15 floor pens. Each pen had two feeders and a drinker. Birds
in.treatment 1 were offered a broiler finisher diet containing 0.25% NaCl in both feeders
while in treatment 2, birds were given 1% NaCl diet in both feeders. Birds in treatment
3 were offered 0.25% NaCl diet in one feeder and 1% NaCl diet in other feeder. Daily
feed intake from each feeder and water intake were recorded from day 42 to 49. The data
were analyzed as a completely randomize design. When both feeders contained similar
levels of NaCl, feed intake from each feeder was not significantly different. When offered
a choice of two dietary NaCl levels in two feeders, birds ate significantly more feeds from
the feeder containing the diet with 0.25^6 NaCl (87g/d) than from the feeder containing
the diet with 1% NaCl (28g/d). The total feed intakes being I26g, 8og and lisg for Ti,
T2 and T3, respectively were significantly different among treatments. Water intake and
water:feed ratio were significantly different among treatments. When a choice of two feeds
containing 0.25% and 1% NaCl was given, the level of NaCl in the ingested diet was 0.41%.
However, broilers in that treatment were significantly heavier on day 49 and gained more
weight than those in other two treatments. Broilers in T2 and T3 gave significantly better
FCRs as well, than those in Ti. Results of this study conclude that broilers can distinguish
diets containing 0.25% and 1% NaCl and the dietary NaCl level that maximizes the growth
performance is 0.4%.
