초록
Four hundred and eighty broiler chicks of both sexes were obtained from commercial hatchery (Hubbard) and raised on floor pens. All chicks were allowed free access to food from 0 to 7 and 20 to 56 days of age. At 7 days of age, all broilers were weighed individually, and divided into five groups as follows: 1. feed ad libitum as the control; 2. allowed free access to food 3 days and starved 1 day ($3{\times}1$); 3. allowed free access to food 2 days and starved 1 day ($2{\times}1$); 4. allowed free access to food 1 day and starved 1 days ($1{\times}1$) and; 5. allowed free access to food 2 days and starved 2 days ($2{\times}2$). Broilers were restricted for 12 days (d 7 through 17) of a 56-day trial. Broilers were fed a commercial starter diet (crude protein 23.8% and ME 3,070 kcal/kg) for 21 days, and commercial finisher diet (crude protein 20% and ME 3,160 kcal/kg) from 22 to 56 days of age. Although there was compensatory growth in some groups, (the $1{\times}1$ female group, and the $3{\times}1$ and $2{\times}1$ male grous), its level was not sufficient to achieve normal body weight at market age. There was sexual dimorphism for accelerated growth as well as differences in the ability to achieve a complete compensation of growth to the weight, feed conversion ratio, and body composition of ad libitum chicks. Early feed restriction could be used to reduce production cost because of the lower fed conversion ratio, mortality rate and the amount of starter diet consumed by broilers. The response of chicks to early feed restriction might depend on the degree of feed restriction, the method of feed restriction, duration of feed restriction, and sexes.