EFFECTS OF FEATHER CLIPPING AND ASCORBIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION ON PERFORMANCE AND SLAUGHTER TRAITS OF BROILERS RAISED UNDER HOT CLIMATE

Abstract

Extremely high ambient temperature (HAT) induces heat stress in birds and affects profitability of poultry industry in hot climates. In this study, we investigated the effects of feather clipping (FC) and dietary ascorbic acid (AA) supplementation on performance and carcass traits of broilers raised under hot climate. A total of 100 day-old broiler chicks of mixed sex were allotted into five treatment groups (G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5), each containing 20 chicks. The broilers in G1 (positive control) were managed under controlled temperature (28-30°C), unclipped and fed on basal diets. In addition to managing the broilers in
G2, G3, G4 and G5 under HAT (43.0 ± 2.0°C), G2 were unclipped and fed on basal diets (negative control), G3 were feather-clipped and fed on basal diets, G4 were fed on diets supplemented with 200mg AA/kg and broilers in G5 were feather-clipped and fed on diets supplemented with 200mg AA/kg. Data were subjected to ANOVA. The results showed that HAT depressed feed intake, fat deposition and breast muscle size significantly (p<0.05) but increased thigh muscle size in broilers. The birds in G5, treated with featherclipping and ascorbic acid supplementation compared relatively significant (p<0.05) with G1 in terms of
feed conversion ratio (FCR) and weight gain. While HAT caused worst performance indices in the broilers kept under G2 (negative control), the best two performances were recorded in broilers kept under G1and  G5. Therefore, feather-clipping combined with 200mg/kg AA supplementation is recommended for ameliorating heat stress in broilers.