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Effect of Abrupt Dietary Energy Changes on Daily Caloric Intake and Performance of Young Laying Hens

Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, 284 Animal Sciences Laboratory, 1201 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801; Phone: (217) 333-8774; FAX: (217) 333-7861

R. A. Zimmerman

Purina Mills, Inc., St. Louis, MO 63166

K. W. Koelkebeck and Y. Zhang

Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801

Correspondence: C. M. Parsons

The effects of abrupt dietary energy changes on daily feed and caloric intake during the transition from the pullet to the layer programs and on subsequent layer performance were investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, birds were fed pullet diets containing 2943, 3113, or 3187 kcal TME_n/kg from 11 through 18 wk of age and then fed layer diets containing either 2829 or 2943 kcal TME_n/kg from 18 through 34 wk. In Experiment 2, birds were fed pullet diets containing either 2863 or 3259 kcal TME_n/kg from 11 through 18 wk of age and then fed layer diets containing 2845, 2958, or 3073 kcal TME_n/kg from 18 through 34 wk. Within two to three days following the change from pullet to layer diets, birds adjusted their feed intakes so that daily caloric intakes were similar among treatments in most cases. The results indicate that 18-wk-old pullets adapt rapidly to abrupt dietary energy changes when switched from pullet grower diets to layer diets.

Key Words: Caloric intake • dietary energy • feed intake • laying hens