Effects of Different Feed Withdrawals on Performance and Fecal Contamination of Carcass in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different feed withdrawal durations on some performance parameters in broilers and fecal contamination of carcass. A total of 150 day-old broiler chicks were randomly allocated to five groups of 30 in each had been consisted of the material. It was determined that feed withdrawal had significant effects on body weight at the 37^th day (P< 0.01). As a part of digestive system, gizzard weight (with ingesta) has exhibited a statistically significant decrease (4.5 %) from 0 to 14 hours following the feed withdrawal (P< 0.001). It was observed that for zero and eight hours feed withdrawal, the mean numbers of coliform bacteria recovered from carcass were found as 5.28 log₁₀ cfu/ml and 4.86 log₁₀ cfu/ml, while 7.86 log₁₀ cfu/ml and 7.35 log₁₀ cfu/ml for caecum, respectively (P< 0.001).