Research Notes Effect of Environmental Temperature on Broiler Chickens Subjected to Growth Restriction at an Early Age1

I. PLAVNIK and S. YAHAV2 Department of Poultry Science, ARO, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel ABSTRACT An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of early growth restriction (EGR) induced by feed restriction on the ability of male broiler chickens to withstand exposure to high environmental temperatures. A 2 4 factorial arrangement of treatments was employed to determine whether such an exposure affects the beneficial effect of EGR on performance and carcass quality. Chicks consumed feed ad libitum or were feed-restricted from 6 to 12 d of age (to achieve 60% growth of the ad libitum birds). From 4 to 8 wk of age, the chickens were kept in temperaturecontrolled chambers at 25, 30, 35 C and a diurnal cyclic temperature of 25:35 C. Weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency from 6 to 8 wk of age (after acclimatization to the various temperatures) and BW at 8 wk of age were significantly (P 0.05) depressed by the high temperatures (35 and 25:35 C) compared with values observed at 25 and 30 C. Early growth restriction did not affect these variables. Relative heart, liver, and breast meat weights at 8 wk of age were decreased significantly with increasing temperature. Relative liver weight was also decreased significantly in the EGR chicks, whereas breast yield was increased significantly in these birds. Relative abdominal fat pad size was not affected by increasing the temperature from 25 to 35 C, but it was significantly lower in chickens kept at 25:35 C than in those kept at 25 and 35 C. Early growth restriction significantly reduced the size of abdominal fat. Because no significant interactions between EGR and ambient temperature on the above mentioned variables were observed during 4 to 8 wk of age, it is concluded that EGR can not alleviate the adverse effect of high ambient temperature on performance, nor can high ambient temperature obliterate the beneficial effect of EGR in improving feed efficiency and reducing fattening.

(Key words: broiler chick, early growth restriction, high ambient temperature, performance, carcass quality) 1998 Poultry Science 77:870872

INTRODUCTION
Early growth restriction (EGR) induced by feed restriction resulted in improved feed efficiency and a reduction in carcass fat in broiler chickens at marketing age (Plavnik and Hurwitz, 1985, 1988; McMurtry et al., 1988). During the EGR period, maintenance energy requirements decreased, possibly due to a reduction in heat production, as observed in mammals, but returned to normal upon refeeding (Plavnik and Hurwitz, 1985). Growth restriction (due to feed restriction) induced changes in hormonal (McMurtry et al., 1988) and metabolic status (Rosebrough et al., 1986) and could modify the reaction of chicks to heat stress applied later in life by reducing heat production (May et al., 1987; Arjona et al., 1988). Furthermore, changes in growth rate

induced by high environmental temperature could modify the slow-response phase of compensatory growth, thus limiting the practical use of EGR. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of EGR on the ability of broiler chicks to withstand exposure to high environmental temperatures, and to determine whether such exposure affects the beneficial effect of EGR on performance and carcass quality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Bird and Diets

Thirty-two groups of 10, 1-d-old male Cobb chicks each, were raised until 4 wk of age in battery brooders in a temperature-controlled room maintained at 25 C. Onehalf of the chicks were feed-restricted between 6 and 12 d of age, allowing a growth rate of 60% compared with the other half of the groups. Thereafter, all chicks consumed feed ad libitum until the end of the experiment at 8 wk of

Received for publication July 25, 1997. Accepted for publication February 19, 1998. 1Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel. Number 2249-E. 1997 series. 2To whom correspondence should be addressed: VLYAHAV@VOLCANI.AGRI.GOV.IL

Abbreviation Key: EGR = early growth restriction.

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RESEARCH NOTE
TABLE 1. Composition of the diets used in different ages during the experiment Age period Ingredients and analysis 0 to 3 wk 3 to 6 wk (%) 8.8 50.0 32.3 5.5 . . . 0.1 2.0 1.0 0.03 0.25 3,192 19.5 6 to 8 wk 12.8 50.0 28.8 5.0 . . . 0.1 2.0 1.0 0.03 0.25 3,200 18.3

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efficiency was calculated. At the end of the experiment (8 wk of age), 10 chickens from each treatment with BW closest to the mean were killed and the abdominal fat, breast muscle, liver, and heart muscle were removed and weighed.

Sorghum 20.3 Yellow corn 35.0 Soybean meal (44.5% CP) 35.7 Soybean oil soapstock 4.5 Fish meal (72% CP) 1.0 DL-Methionine 0.2 Dicalcium phosphate 1.6 Ground limestone 1.4 0.03 Mineral mix1 0.25 Vitamin mix2 Calculated analysis AMEn, kcal/kg 3,080 CP 21.5

Statistical Analyses
A completely randomized design and a factorial arrangement of treatments [feeding regimen from 6 to 12 d of age (EGR) and ambient temperature from 4 to 8 wk of age] were employed in the experiment. An ANOVA was conducted according to Snedecor and Cochran (1967). Differences among means and the effects of the various temperatures were evaluated by Duncans (1955) multiple range test. Statements of significant difference are based on of P 0.05.

1,2The composition of the mineral and vitamin mixtures were detailed previously (Plavnik et al., 1997).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

age. At 4 wk of age, the birds in each of the two treatments were divided into 16 groups of 6 birds each, according to BW. Both mean group weight and individual weight distribution were equal within the groups. Four such groups from each treatment were transferred to each of four temperature-controlled chambers, where they were kept in individual cages. During the following 7 d, the temperature in these chambers was changed at equal increments to reach target temperature of 25, 30, 35 C or a diurnal cyclic temperature of 25:35 C (25 C between 1900 and 0700 h, and 35 C between 0700 and 1900 h). The relative humidity was maintained at 60% in all chambers (Yahav et al., 1995). The diets used during the experiment (Table 1), were formulated to meet all known nutrient requirements for chicks, with the exception of CP, as estimated by the National Research Council (1994). Weight gain on an individual basis and feed consumption on a group basis were recorded weekly and feed Feed allowance and weight gain between 6 and 12 d of age of the restricted birds were, respectively, 69.5 and 61% that of the nonrestricted ones (data not shown). However, at the age of 4 wk, BW of the restricted birds had reached that of the nonrestricted birds (1,168 12 and 1,139 18 g, respectively). During the acclimation period (4 to 5 wk of age), BW declined progressively with increasing temperature. At the end of this period (end of the 5th wk of age) BW of birds kept at 25, 30, 35, and 25:35 C were 1,579 11, 1,578 14, 1,473 9, and 1,424 11 g, respectively, whereas BW of chickens exposed to 35 and 25:35 C was significantly lower than that obtained at 25 and 30 C. No significant interactions were observed between feed regimen from 6 to 12 d of age and ambient temperature between 4 and 8 wk of age (Table 2). Body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency at 8 wk of age, were depressed significantly by increasing ambient temperature (Table

TABLE 2. Factorial effect of early feed restriction and various environmental temperatures on broiler performance from 6 to 8 wk and on body composition at 8 wk of age1 Temperature Factors Body weight, g2,3 Weight gain, g/14 d2,4 Feed intake, g/14 d2,4 Feed efficiency, g/g2,4 Heart weight, % of BW5 Liver weight, % of BW5 Breast muscle, % of BW5 Abdominal fat, % of BW5
a,bMeans 1There

Feed restriction 25:35 C 2,363b 1,209b 2,964b 0.407b 0.348b 1.43b 14.13b 1.59b SEM 74.2 74.2 88.4 0.016 0.008 0.047 0.239 0.073 No 2,646 1,510 3,482 0.424 0.369 1.56a 14.17b 1.94a Yes 2,717 1,550 3,339 0.460 0.356 1.43b 15.24a 1.74b SEM 52.5 52.5 62.5 0.012 0.006 0.033 0.169 0.052

25 C 3,125a 1,977a 4,134a 0.478a 0.402a 1.55ab 15.35a 2.00a

30 C 2,946a 1,796a 3,790a 0.474ab 0.368b 1.58a 15.39a 1.85ab

35 C 2,294b 1,140b 2,752b 0.410b 0.333b 1.42b 13.95b 1.93a

with no common superscript differ significantly (P 0.05). were no significant temperature by feed restriction interactions. 2Means of 8 and 16 groups of six chickens each exposed to temperature and early feed restriction treatments, respectively. 3At 8 wk of age. 4From 6 to 8 wk of age. 5Means of 20 and 40 chickens exposed to temperature and early feed restriction treatments, respectively.

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PLAVNIK AND YAHAV exposed to high environmental temperatures just prior to marketing. Poultry Sci. 67:226231. Duncan, D. B., 1955. Multiple range and multiple F test. Biometrics 11:142. Geraert, P. A., H. Ain Baziz, J.C.F. Padilha, and S. Guillaumin, 1994. Heat induced changes in glucose utilization and lipid deposition in broilers. Pages 262263 in: Proceedings of the 9th European Poultry Conference. Vol. 1. Walker and Cornell, Darvel, U.K. May, J. D., J. W. Deaton, and S. I. Branton, 1987. Body temperature of acclimated broilers during exposure to high temperature. Poultry Sci. 66:378380. McMurtry, J. P., I. Plavnik, R. W. Rosebrough, N. C. Steel, and A. Proudman, 1988. Effect of early feed restriction in male broiler chicks on plasma metabolic hormones during feed restriction and accelerated growth. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 91A:6770. National Research Council, 1994. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry. 9th rev. ed. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Plavnik, I., and S. Hurwitz, 1985. The performance of broiler chicks during and following a severe feed restriction at an early age. Poultry Sci. 64:348355. Plavnik, I., and S. Hurwitz, 1988. Early feed restriction in chicks: effect of age, duration and sex. Poultry Sci. 67: 14071413. Plavnik, I., E. Wax, D. Sklan, and S. Hurwitz, 1997. The response of broiler chickens and turkey poults to steampelleted diets supplemented with fat or carbohydrates. Poultry Sci. 76:10061013. Rosebrough, R. W., N. C. Steel, J. P. McMurtry, and I. Plavnik, 1986. Effect of early feed restriction in broilers. II. Lipid metabolism. Growth 50:217227. Santoso, U., K. Tanaka, S. Ontani, and Y. Sun 1993. Effect of early feed restriction on broiler performances and body composition. Asian Australian J. Anim. Sci. 6:401409. Snedecor, G. W., and W. G. Cochran, 1967. Statistical Methods. 6th ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA. Yahav, S., S. Goldfeld, I. Plavnik, and S. Hurwitz, 1995. Physiological responses of chickens and turkeys to relative humidity during exposure to high ambient temperature. J. Therm. Biol. 20:245253. Yahav, S., D. Luger, A. Cahaner, M. Dotan, M. Rusal, and S. Hurwitz, 1998. Thermoregulation in naked neck chickens subjected to different ambient temperatures. Br. Poult. Sci. 39:133138. Yahav, S., A. Strashnow, I. Plavnik, and S. Hurwitz, 1996. Effect of diurnal cyclic versus constant temperatures on chickens growth and food intake. Br. Poult. Sci. 37:4354. Yahav, S., A. Strashnow, I. Plavnik, and S. Hurwitz, 1997a. Blood system response of chickens to changes in environmental temperature. Poultry Sci. 76:627633.

2). The EGR did not affect these variables significantly, as was previously described by Plavnik and Hurwitz (1985, 1988) and Santoso et al. (1993) for feed intake and feed efficiency. Relative heart weight was decreased significantly with increasing temperature above 25 C, in agreement with Yahav et al. (1997, 1998). Relative liver weight was decreased in chickens kept at 35 C or at the cycling temperature, possibly due to a decrease in metabolic needs, as already observed in naked neck chickens exposed to similar environmental conditions (Yahav et al., 1998). The reduced liver weight in previously feedrestricted birds has not been reported in the past, and may also be related to the reduced metabolic activity manifested by the reduced feed intake. Breast muscle yield decreased significantly in birds kept at 35 C or at the cyclic 25:35 C. The yield was significantly higher in EGR chickens, in agreement with our previous findings (Plavnik and Hurwitz, 1985, 1988). Relative abdominal fat pad size was lowest in birds kept at the 25:35 C cyclic temperature and highest in those kept at 25 C. It is worth noting that increasing the temperature from 25 to 35 C did not affect this variable. This study is in contrast to those of previous studies that demonstrated a linear relationship between abdominal fat and ambient temperature (Geraert et al., 1994; Yahav et al., 1996). In agreement with previous results, the size of the abdominal fat pad was reduced significantly in EGR birds (Plavnik and Hurwitz, 1985, 1988; Santoso et al., 1993). The lack of a temperature by EGR interaction demonstrates that the high environmental temperature did not modify the beneficial responses of EGR on increasing breast meat yield and reducing fattening. Likewise, it demonstrates that EGR does not alleviate the detrimental effects on performance caused by high temperatures.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by a grant from the Egg and Poultry Board of Israel. The authors are indebted to M. Ben-Mosheh and Y. Nissenbaum for technical assistance.

REFERENCES
Arjona, A. A., D. M. Denbow, and W. D. Weaver, Jr., 1988. Effect of heat stress early in life on mortality of broilers