This document discusses factors that influence feed consumption in chickens. It identifies several key factors including the nutrient content of the feed, age and breed of the chicken, growth or production rate, energy level of the feed, particle size, water availability, health status, ambient temperature, stress levels, and fiber content. The document provides details on how each of these factors can impact a chicken's feed intake.

1. Factors Influencing
Feed Consumption In Chickens

2. Factors To Be Considered
in Poultry Feeding
1. Feed must contain all essential nutrients in the right
amounts and proportion as required.
2. Different standards per age and breed should be followed.
3. Palatability of the ingredients.
4. Unlike ruminants, poultry completely depend upon the
dietary sources for all nutrients (essential AAs., vit. B groups
& vit. K).
5. Include agro-industrial by-products to minimize cost of the
ration.
6. Optimum level of ingredient inclusion as many of
ingredients have a deleterious effect at higher levels.
7. Optimum Ca:Ph ratio for different purposes.

3. Factors Affecting Feed Intake

4. Factors Affecting Feed Intake
1. Type of Bird
2. Age of Bird
3. Growth / production rate
4. Energy Content of Feed
5. Particle Size of Feed
6. Water Availability to Birds
7. Health Status of Birds/Diseases
8. Ambient temperature
9. Stress
10. Fiber content of the feed

5. 1- Type Of Bird
 Meat producing birds
 Egg producing birds
 Dual type birds
 Fancy or ornamental birds

6. 2- Age of Bird
 Nutrient requirements are related to both body weight and
the stage of maturity.
 In later stages feed intake will increase gradually because bird
requires feed for maintenance and production purposes and
bird has to overcome the stress of egg/meat production.

7. 3- Growth / Production Rate
 The growth of meat type birds is rapid as compared to egg
type birds, so, feed intake will be more and fast in meat
producing poultry.
 Feed consumption in layer birds will increase as chicks
becomes growers and grower becomes layers.

8. 4- Energy Levels in the Ration
  Energy level   feed intake
  Energy level   feed intake

9. 5- Particle Size of Feed
It is inversely proportional to the feed consumption.
Birds tend to eat larger particle size as chickens has the ability
to pick the larger cereal grains.
The feed consumption will improve as the particle size is
reduced to medium by mash, pellet and crumble preparation
compared to whole grain.

10. 6- Water Availability to Birds
 Water is the most essential although the requirement value
cannot be easily determined as with other nutrients.
 Water requirement of the meat producing birds depends
upon:
1. Environmental temperature
2. Relative humidity
3. Composition of the diet
4. Growth rate

11. Cont. …
 Normally, meat birds drink at least twice as much water as the
amount of feed consumed on a weight basis, but;
– Increasing dietary crude protein increases water intake
and water : feed ratios.
– Increasing dietary salt and other osmotically active
minerals increase water intake.
 Crumbled or pelleted feed increases both water and feed
intake relative to mash diets, but water: feed ratios stay
relatively the same.

12. 7- Health Status of Birds/Diseases
 Healthy birds --------- normal feed consumption
 Sick birds ---------------feed consumption will be less

13. 8- Ambient Temperature
 Poultry have increased energy requirements to maintain
normal body temperature in cold ambient temperatures and
the opposite in hot ambient temperatures.
 The process of digesting food produces body heat, and the
amount of heat produced will vary according to the nutrient
composition of the diet. This is called the heat increment of
the diet.

14. Cont. …
 In cold temperatures it may be desirable to formulate a diet
with a higher heat increment and the opposite in hot
temperatures.

15. 9- Stress
 Stress has adverse effects on reduced feed intake.
 Elevation of the stress mounting an immune response is
compromised by hormones associated with the stress
response causes reduced absorption of specific nutrients.

16. Cont…
 Nutrient absorption and gut motility reduced substantially
during the stress response .
 Acute stress may cause a momentary decrease in feed intake
with minimal impact on performance.

17. Cont..
 Chronic stress will have a marked and persistently detrimental
effect on nutrient absorption and utilization.
 Chronic stress can be influenced by three environmental
stressors:
1. Heat stress.
2. Poor air quality.
3. Poor litter quality.

18. 10- Heat Stress
 Heat is removed from the body by insensible heat loss.
 The degree of heat stress endured by a bird is dependent
upon several factors, including
1. Body size
2. Growth rate
3. Ambient temperature
4. Amount of convective heat loss influenced by air speed

19. 11- Poor Air Quality
 Adequate ventilation reduces air moisture, dust, ammonia,
and carbon dioxide and brings in more oxygen.
 High air moisture
– Decreases evaporative cooling and thus adversely affects
feed intake.
 Excess air dust
– Causes Inflammation of the respiratory system, which
depresses feed intake.

20. Cont..
 Excess ammonia
– Not only irritates pulmonary tissues, but it also is a
metabolic stressor that causes depressed feed intake.
 High levels of carbon dioxide or low oxygen levels in the air
– Results in depressed metabolic rate that ultimately causes
depressed feed intake.

21. 12- Poor Litter Quality
Poor litter quality is also a
medium of many of pathogens
that challenge the health status
of the flock.

22. 13- Fiber Content Of The Feed
 Presence of large quantity of higher polysaccharides like
cellulose and lignin in chicken diet increases bulk in feed.
 Lignin and Cellulose cannot be digested by chicken.
 The efforts to convert polysaccharides in to mono or
disaccharides will result in tremendous increase in food
energy for chicken.