2. Definition of Nutrition
• Involves the combination of processes by
which all body parts receive and utilize
materials necessary for:
• Function
• Growth
• Reproduction
3. Nutrition Includes:
• Release of energy.
• Building of body tissue.
• Regulation of body processes.
• Food has to be digested and enter the blood
system to work.
5. Nutrition Requirements
• The main objective of
the poultry producer is
to achieve efficient
economic conversion
of feedstuffs into
human feed.
• TIP-In the Poultry
Improvement Contest
you are also striving
for a low feed
efficiency.
• Poultry require the
same nutrients--water,
fats, carbohydrates,
proteins, minerals,
vitamins, and certain
unidentified growth
factors--as mammals
but the proportions
differ.
6. Feed is Used to:
• Provide the energy necessary to maintain a
normal body temperature.
• Provide body movements necessary to
survive.
TIP-That is why if your house is too cold, all of the energy from the
feed will go to keeping the chicken warm instead of providing growth.
7. • Provide energy for the production of body
secretions and the repair of body tissues.
• To provide growth.
• For reproduction.
• Any additional nutrients are stored in the body
as fat.
• Poultry are more sensitive to nutrient needs
than other mammals because their body and
digestive processes are more rapid, their
respiration and circulation are faster, and their
body temperature is 8-10 degrees higher(107).
8. Rapid Growth
• Broilers grow so fast that they are especially
sensitive to nutritional deficiencies.
9. Water
• Water is the single largest constituent of
animal tissue and it amounts to 58% of the
chicken.
• It regulates temperature, serves as a medium
and transportation agent for dissolved
substances, and it gives the chicken form
and shape.
• Water is the cheapest and most important
nutrient.
10. • The amount of water that a chicken drinks
depends upon the food consumption,
temperature, humidity, activity of the chicken
and nature of the food.
• The water should be fresh, clean,
uncontaminated, and be easily and readily
accessible.
• It should be cool, extreme cold or hot water
decreases consumption and leads to
dehydration and slow growth.
11. • Water accounts for 70% or more of the
composition of plants and animals.
• Enables living plants and animals to hold their
shape.
• Helps in the digestion of feeds.
• Serves as a carrier for waste-products resulting
from body functions.
12. • Drinking water from wells, farm ponds, and
other sources contaminated with bacteria can
not only cause disease but also influence
growth and the general well being of the
flock.
• 50 broiler chickens require 2.35 gallons of
water a day.
13. Carbohydrates
• Organic chemical compounds from carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen.
• They are used as a source of energy by the
organism because they are easily burned up
in the body to produce heat and energy for
body movement and function.
• Sugars, starches, and fiber are the most
common forms in feeds.
14. • Glycogen is a carbohydrate synthesized in the
body and stored in small amounts in the liver
and muscles.
• It can be utilized rapidly under emergency and
stress situations in the bird.
• Excess carbohydrates turn to fat.
• The indigestible carbohydrate are called fiber
which aids in the normal digestion and
absorption of certain minerals.
15. • All cereal grains are classified as
carbohydrates.
• The number one cereal grain used in poultry
rations is corn.
• Other cereal grains that can be used are:
– Oats, barley, grain sorghum, rice, wheat, and
wheat by-products.
