Abstract:
29A BROILER PERFORMANCE AT HIGH TEMPERATURES IN RELATION TO DIETARY ELECTROLYTE BALANCE AND CATION-ANION BALANCE I. GORMAN and D. BALNAVE broiler between exist relationships Although performance, acid-base homeostasis and the ionic composition of the diet, attempts to define a practical ionic balance equation for use in feed formulation have been inconclusive. Such an equation is likely to be more important at high temperatures where panting can induce respiratory alkalosis. Normally, few salts have been used in testing such equations, with a majority of studies using only NH4Cl and NaHC03. The present study was designed to compare dietary electrolyte balance [EB=Na+K-Cl, mEq/kg] with cation-anion Twelve [(CAT-AN)=(Na+K+Ca+Mg)-(Cl+P+S), mEq/kgl . balance diets were formulated to enable simultaneous comparisons between EB, (CAT-AN) and .specific ion effects. Male broiler chicks (21-d old) were housed at a constant 30�C and given free access to feed and water. Feed intakes and weight gains were measured to 42 days of age and feed conversion ratios (F.C.R.) calculated. Table 1. Performance of broilers from 21-42 days of age There was no significant effect of either EB or (CAT-AN) on weight gain or feed conversion. The carbonates, other than Na2C03, performed the most poorly of all the salts. Birds fed NaHC03 gave the best performance and this treatment was the only one to show significant improvements in weight gain and feed conversion compared with birds fed the basal diet. Department of Animal Science, University of Sydney, Wer Road, Camden, N.S.W. 2570.