Content available at:
Español (Spanish)
In this review, various strategies are presented for feeding chicks post hatch, from the first hours of life in the hatchery until their first few days on the farm.
Commercial hatcheries
In commercial hatcheries, newly hatched chicks remain in the incubators for a certain number of hours until they proceed with their sexing, sorting, vaccination, etc. Once all these tasks are completed, the chicks are transported to the farm. Sometimes it can take up to 72 hours between the moment the hatching process is finalized, until the chicks get access to feed and water, depending on the distance between the hatchery and the destination farm.
Chicks are generally considered to be able to survive on their yolk sac reserves for a period of up to approximately 72 hours after hatching –Mitchell, 2009–.
However, while the yolk sac reserves may be sufficient for survival, the absence of feeding during the first hours or days of life can negatively affect the growth and productive performance of chickens throughout their lives.
What is the effect of fasting time on chickens of different ages?
Recently, De Jong et al. –2017– carried out a rigorous meta-analysis based on 83 experimental tests in which the effect of fasting time during the first hours of life on the weight and productive performance of chickens at different ages was studied. This meta-analysis revealed that, although chicks can compensate for the growth delay derived from fasting during the first hours of life, this compensation is not complete, with statistically significant differences still being observed in live weight at 42 days of age, depending on of the number of hours they remained without feed after hatch –Figure 1–.
Figure 1. Effect of hours of fasting after hatching on live weight of chickens at different ages –de Jong et al., 2017 –
Similarly, the number of hours of fasting after hatching significantly affects the index conversion rate –Figure 2– and mortality throughout the broadening of chickens –Figure 3–.
Figure 2. Effect of fasting hours after hatching on the conversion rate of chickens from 0 to 24 days old –de Jong et al., 2017 –
In addition to feeding as early as possible, the proportion of macronutrients in the first feeding that the chicks receive is decisive for their growth throughout their lives, with protein intake during the first days of life being the most important nutritional factor.
...
