Sodium levels in initial broiler diets.

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of crescent levels of sodium in initial diet on broiler performance. 672 one day-old males AgRoss were distributed in a completely randomized design with six treatments and eight replicates of 14 birds each. Treatments consisted of isonutrient diets containing 0.15%; 0.19%; 0.23%; 0.27%; 0.31% and 0.35% sodium. A quadratic effect (P≤0.01) of sodium levels was found for weight gain, but feed intake and feed conversion were not significantly affected. A linear effect (P≤0.05) of sodium levels on water consumption and litter moisture was observed. Based on weight gain data a minimum of 0.19% and a maximum of 0.307% sodium level are suggested for the initial diet of broiler chicks. High litter moisture level however should also be considered to evaluate bird performance.