Choosing the right feed for your chickens

The best-quality meat demands the best-quality feed, according to Dr Elsje Pieterse, senior lecturer in the Department of Animal Science at Stellenbosch University, and Brett Roosendaal, head nutritionist at Epol. They spoke to Marinda Louw-Coetzee about feeding requirements for producing chicken products.

- Marinda Louw-Coetzee

How does a chicken’s physiology and social nature influence the choice of feed?

DR ELSJE PIETERSE (EP): The chicken is a single-stomached animal, so high-fibre diets are not digested and can reduce performance. It’s not a grazer, and although it will feed on young growth on grazing, this cannot be the primary source of nutrients. A chicken requires highly digestible, well-balanced feed with the correct balance of vitamins, minerals, energy and amino acids (proteins).

BRETT ROOSENDAAL (BR): Poultry are sensitive to temperature, light, access to water and feed, type of housing, and conditions that may cause stress, such as stocking density. The cornerstone of chicken nutrition is attaining high voluntary feed intake of a diet that provides the prerequisite quantities of nutrients and energy daily.

Which diseases and conditions are chickens sensitive to, and how can diet improve this?

EP: A well-fed chicken kept in a proper environment will have a healthy immune system and will not get sick as easily as a malnourished, poorly managed bird. Chickens can get respiratory infections, digestive upsets, and inflammation and infections associated with injuries.

BR: Diet is fundamental to the majority of these diseases, either through the addition of functional ingredients to target specific disease status, or basic construction of the diet formulation that mitigates many of the disease conditions encountered.

Many diseases lead to a reduction in feed intake, which results in underperformance. Diagnosing a health problem accurately, together with good nutrition, is imperative for sustainable poultry production. Are growth hormones or antibiotics added to chicken feed?