Implementation of a Net Energy System for Meat Chicken Feed Formulation

Abstract

<p>The benefit of formulating broiler diets using net energy (NE) versus ME is under debate for a long time. Formulated during this study, were a series of diets to determine if NE or AME was a better system for broiler feed formulation. Diets offered to broilers housed in closed-circuit calorimetry chambers were used to determine the energy values. </p> <p>The findings showed that both AME and NE could be used to formulate broiler diets. Broilers offered diets formulated using NE system performed equally well as broilers offered AME diets. Using NE versus AME to formulate broiler diets impacted the procurement strategy for raw materials. </p> <p>Protein ideally balanced with NE leads to high weight gain and low FCR. It is the ratio of NE to protein or amino acid that dictates the performance, live weight and FCR, and not AME content of the diet. Hence, while both NE and AME systems are appropriate for broiler feed formulation, NE is a better performance predictor, for FCR and weight gain, than AME. </p> <p>The supremacy of the NE system is higher in lower energy diets and when formulating diets during the early age of the broilers.</p>