Is broiler breeding a viable alternative to day-old chick slaughter?
Productive performance. Responsible innovation. Alternative animal protein. Economic viability.
The euthanasia of male chicks on the first day of life is a widespread practice in Brazil and in several countries, since they do not have a productive destination in laying poultry. An alternative to the ethical dilemma of mass euthanasia is to promote the fattening of birds in order to provide animal protein. In this sense, our objective is to investigate the effects of different formulations and nutritional densities on the productive, economic and carcass performance of males of a laying strain. Four hundred Dekalb Brown chicks were fed with different diets: control and nutritional value (CThigh), control and low nutritional value (CTlow), partial replacement with wheat and high nutritional value (TRhigh), partial replacement with wheat and low nutritional value. (CTlow). For the productive performance, the weight, weight gain (WG), feed conversion (FC), feed intake (FI) and productive viability (PV) were obtained weekly. An economic analysis based on the difference between the purchased inputs and the sale value of the birds. The carcass characteristics were presented in the weights, yields and morphometry of the main commercial and lively edible cuts. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 2x2 factorial scheme, with two nutritional densities and two formulations. There was no difference for weight, WG, FC, FI, VP, carcass yield and breast and thigh yield between the control and partial replacement diets with wheat. High nutrient density as responses to weight, WG, FC, better carcass yield, total viscera yield, breast length, breast length and thigh length. The TRhigh diet presented the best financial return. The construction of a new product based on innovation responsible for the time demand, therefore, we estimate that this investigation will allow access to primary information about the productive characteristics of males of laying strain, and the creation of a differentiated production chain for this new product. market niches can be guided by the ethical consumption of animal protein.