Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Beef Fat (Tallow) on Broiler Performance and Feed Utilization

This study was performed to investigate the effect of supplementing beef fat 3% on broiler performance and feed utilization including: Feed consumption, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), water consumption, carcass characteristics, protein efficiency ratio, lysine efficiency ratio, efficiency of energy utilization, mortality, relative water consumption, and production efficiency factor. Two hundred unsexed broiler chicks, 28 day-old (Ross 308) were used. The Chicks were randomly distributed into 2 treatments experimental groups, designated T1 and T2, each group has 4 replicates of 25 chicks. Birds were fed experimental diets for 3 weeks. They were fed finisher diets from 29th to 49th day old, in which 3% beef fat was added to the isocalaric and isonitrogenous to T2 diet, 0% beef fat (Tallow)T1 (Control group). Live body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, lysine efficiency ratio, efficiency of energy utilization, water consumption, relative water consumptionÙ« production efficiency factor, carcass characteristics were determined. The results showed highly significant differences (p<0.01) between groups T1 and T2, in live body weight, body weight gain, carcass weightÙ« water consumptionÙ« feed conversion ratioÙ« lysine efficiency ratio and production efficiency factor. No significant differences were found between groups T1 and T2, in feed consumption, efficiency of energy utilization and protein efficiency ratio. Therefore it is concluded that adding beef fat based diets improved broiler performance and feed utilization.