The effects of poultry fat with soy oil at a fixed energy:protein on broiler field performance

The effects of poultry fat (PF) as an alternative to soy oil (SO) in broiler diets at a fixed energy:protein on field performance were investigated. Chick weight (CW), average daily weight gain (ADWG), average live weight (ALW), feed consumption ( FC), feed conversion ratio (FCR), production efficiency factor (PEF), and liveability were examined. The experiment, which included 12000 broilers chicks with 15 repetitions in 60 pens, lasted 41 d. The chicks were obtained from 36-w old (middle-aged) Ross 308 strain broiler breeders. Four different diets of SO in starter, SO or PF in grower, and SO or equal amounts of both (SO+PF) in finisher were tested. The highest performance data were obtained when SO was used in the grower and SO+PF were used in the finisher diet, whereas the lowest performance data were obtained when PF was used in grower and SO+PF in the finisher diet. The differences between the CW, ADWG, ALW, FC, FCR and PEF values of these groups were significant, except for liveability. This is thought to be due to the synergistic effect caused by the combined use of SO and PF. The liveability was numerically higher in the SO groups and decreased with the use of PF, but these differences were not statistically significant. The use of PF with SO may be an effective and economic alternative in terms of fixed energy:protein if certain ratios are not exceeded.