January 15, 2016

Study confirms carryover effect of starter feed with HP AviStart

An efficient starter diet during the first 10 days make a difference to broiler performance throughout the production lifecycle, a study showed.

A feeding trial at the University of New England in Australia has investigated the carry-over effect of HP AviStart from Hamlet Protein on broiler digestive systems.

HP AviStart is a source of highly digestible soy protein that is low in anti-nutritional factors. For the trial, 2.5%, 5% and 10% doses were added to corn- and wheat-based starter diets which were then fed to male Ross 308 birds from Day 1 to Day 10. The control diets contained no HP AviStart.

Regardless of whether broilers received the wheat- or corn-based diet, feed conversion rate (FCR) and carcass yield both improved if the diet contained HP AviStart. The highest dose of the specialty soy protein gave the lowest FCR compared to the control.

Improved carcass yield was calculated from breast, thigh and drumstick measurements. Compared with the control group, birds fed a starter diet with HP AviStart had around 10% more breast and thigh meat and 5% higher drumstick yield. The highest yield was obtained with 5% addition of HP AviStart.

Both FCR and carcass yield confirmed the carryover effect of HP AviStart in broiler starter feed. The Australian study gives a potential reason for this effect: an improvement in the ileal digestibility of protein later in the broilers' life, which again can potentially be explained by an increased villus/crypt ratio (larger surface for absorption of nutrients).

In the corn-based diet, the greatest improvement in the ileal digestibility of protein was 10% at an addition level of 2.5% HP AviStart. The maximum improvement in the wheat-based diet was 5%, observed in broilers fed the diet with 5% HP AviStart.

In broilers fed both the corn- and wheat-based diets, villus/crypt ratio increased following a starter diet with HP AviStart and was highest at a 5% addition rate. A strong correlation was observed between villus/crypt ratio and breast meat.

These findings support previous studies of the carryover effect of HP AviStart on broiler performance, gut health and protein digestibility. Improved body weight and feed conversion rate alone point to a high return on investment when HP AviStart is added to broiler starter feed.