The effect of different energy-protein ratio in diets on feed digestibility and performance of native chickens in the starter phase

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of different energy-protein ratio in diets on feed digestibility and performance of native chickens in the starter phase. A total of 128, 1-d-old healthy male native chickens were randomly divided into four treatment diet groups: A) diets containing metabolic energy (ME) 3100 kcal/kg with crude protein (CP) 22%; B): diet containing 3000 kcal/kg ME with CP 20%; C): diets containing ME 2900 kcal/kg with 18% CP (C); and D): diet containing ME 2800 kcal/kg with 16% CP, respectively. There were four replications, resulting in 16pens, which contained 8 birds each. The results showed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05)in feed consumption andfeed digestibility between group treatments. Final body weight and live weight gains, the highest (P