Effect of Wet Feeding in Broiler on Growth Performance under Subtropical Summer Conditions

Abstract

Broiler farmers experience increasing challenges, especially from heat stress due to climate change (e.g.,global warming). This study aims to determine the effect of feeding wet feed in broiler chickens under subtropical summer conditions of Bhutan to mitigate heat stress in chickens. A total of 120 broiler chickens (Vencobb 400Y) were assigned randomly into two groups with three replications each: wet feed and dry feed groups and chickens were reared for six weeks. The average chicken’s body temperature assigned in wet feed (41.39 ± 0.67 oC) was lower than those assigned in the dry feed group (42.07 ± 1.62^oC). A significant positive correlation between the chicken’s body temperature and water consumption (r= .53, p < .01) indicates that as the chicken’s body temperature increases the water intake is likely to increase. The chickens provided with wet feed weighed heavier (2445.71 ± 244.91 g) than those fed with dry feed (2148.86 ± 268.85 g) at six weeks of age (p < .05). Likewise, the chickens allocated to the wet feed group (233.18 kg) showed higher feed intake compared to the broiler chickens in the dry feed group (185.7 kg) at the end of the feeding trial. The dressing percentage was also observed higher in chickens fed with wet feed (84.53 ± 2.72%) than in those fed with dry feed (77.53 ± 4.65%) at p < .01. Furthermore, higher chicken mortality was observed in dry feed (11 chickens) than wet feed group (2 chickens) during the feeding trial. Moreover, chickens fed with wet feed were more profitable (Nu. 232.40 per chicken) than the chickens fed with dry feed (Nu. 117.43 per chicken). Therefore, a wet feeding strategy would be an effective strategy to mitigate heat stress in the subtropical summer conditions of Bhutan