امیرعلی صادقی

Broiler performance in the end of rearing period may be influenced by post-hatch feeding program. Five hundreds and forty Ross 308 broiler chicks aged 6h after hatching allotted according to a complete random design (CRD) scheduled of 9 treatments and four replications of 15 chicks. Treatments were included a corn-soybean meal diet as base, fasting for 24 and 48 hours, feeding base diet fortified with 15% egg powder for 24 and 48 hours after hatch, feeding base diet fortified with 20 % corn syrup for 24 and 48 hours after hatch and feeding base diet fortified with both corn syrup and egg powder for 24 and 48 hours after hatch. Fasting for 48 hours had a negative effect on weight gain of broilers at 21 and 42 days of age and feed conversion ratio at 21 days of age. Feeding a diet fortified with corn syrup for 24 hours after hatch resulted to higher (P<0.05) weight gain and lower feed conversion ratios at 7 and 42 days of age. The higher (P<0.05) weight gain in 21 days of age was belonged to chickens fed with a diet fortified by both corn syrup and egg powder. Daily feed intake did not affected by treatments in first 21 days of experiment, however the groups receiving base diet and diet fortified with corn syrup for 48 hours had lower (P<0.05) feed intake at 42 days of age. The result suggested that long term fasting after hatching could negatively affect broiler productivity at market age and offering a diet fortified with corn syrup or corn syrup plus egg powder for 24 hours after hatch could improve broiler performance