CA2111956A1 - Poultry feedstuff - Google Patents

Abstract

Intensive poultry husbandry feed includes dry feed and between more than 75 to 250 % of water.

Description

- ~11956 POULTR~ FEEDSTUFF

This in~ention relates to feeds for intensive poultry husbandry. The invention also relates to a method of use of the feeds. The invention may be used to feed a variety of birds such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quails, geese, guinea fowl and the like, referred to in this specification simply as "poultry" .
Intensive poultry husbandry is widely practised both for the reariny of broiler chickens and other birds and also for egg production. Intensive poultry husbandry may ~e ~efined by the housing of 500 birds or more in a building or other structure such as an open air compound to which feedstuffs, water and other amenities are provided. The birds may have access to both a building and paddock. Intensively reared poultry are usually fed a dry pelleted feed and provided with a separate water supply.
According to a first aspect of the present invention an intensive poultry husbandry wet feed includes dry feed and between more than 75 to 250~ by weight of water.
Percentages and proportions in this specification are by ~ ~ weight unless indicated otherwise.
: The feed may further comprise nutrients or other additi~es as are described~ below. The dry feed may be pelleted, ground or proYided in o~he~r convenient forms. Moist feed may be used, the~ proportion mixed with water being calculated on the dry ~ weight. ~ ~
:: Use of the feed in accordance with the present invention has been found to cause poultry to con~ert food more efficiently or when possible to consume more food and grow at a faster rate without any significant detrimental effect on the carcass composition. The conversion of food to body weight is in most cases more efficient. Surprisingly thls effect is not achieved by use of less than 75~ of added water. Use of :~ 300~ or more has been found to be excessive.
It is believed that the digestibility of the food is enha~ced, this being a surprising result since an increased food intake had been thought to cause a faster rate of passage of digesta with less ~ime for digestion to occur.

W093tO0017 PCT/GB92/Otl3~

21il9S6 In preferred embodiments of the invention the feed includes 80% to 250~ more preferably 100 to 250% water.
Especially preferred embodiments of the invention incorporate 120 to 225% water, more preferably 150 - 200~.
Any conventional dried poultry feed may be employedf for example Dalgety feed. ~lternatively raw materials mixed on the farm or locally may be used.
Preferred feeds have medium to high nutrient density as measured by metabolisable energy and protein.
Preferably, the proportion of water added to the dry feed results in a wet feed or wet mash having a pourable, semi liquid porridg~-like consistency. This consistency produces a wet feed in which an optimum amount of liquid has been absorbed. If less water is added, the wet feed will be too dry, whereas if more water is added, a layer of water will be formed on the top of the feed. The existence of a layer of water above the bulk of the wet feed deters poultry from feeding.
The dry feed~may be provided in the form of pellets, but is pre~erably in a powdered form.
~::According to a second aspect of the present invention we provide use of a feed in accordance with the first aspect of this invention for intensive:poultry husbandry.
:~Besides use with adult poultry the feed may be used for ~:intensiv~ husbandry o;f chicks. The term "chicksl' may xefer to ,~poultry from hatching to the~age of maturity. Chicks of 3 days may be con~eniently introduced to the wet feed. Younger chicks for example 12 hours to 24 hours of age may also be reared using the feed although the cages and feeding apparatus : should be arranged to prevent the chicks from bathiny in the wet feed.
Mortality of chicks is especially high during hot weather when the chicks have been without water during transport from the hatchery. Unless they find the drinkers quickly the chi~ks can become dehydrated and succumb. By ¦:~ offering wet f~od, which is found easily and is eaten i,immediately, f~rther significant economic benefit is obtained . . .
.

W093/00017 PCT/GB92/Olt34 ~ 1113ra ~
--3-- .

by reduction of mortality in the early stages of rearing.
Additional drinking water may be provided although this is not always essential. The necessity of providing additional drinking water is especially dependent on the amount of water provided in the feed within the scope of this invention.
~ se of the present invention in preferred conditions affords increased body weight without detracting from the carcass composition. A higher voluntary intake as measured by the dry weight of feedstuff may be induced. Efficiency of feed conversion or utilisation of the foodstuff is improved.
Under many circumstances use of the present invention whilst increasing the efficiency of feed conversion or utilisation of the food, will not result in an increased body weight. In other words, by use of the present invention, birds will under certain circumstances attain their maximum body weight earlier and/or by eating less food than birds which are fed a conventional dry feed.
The invention has the further advantage of allowing additives such as enzymes and other nutrients, for example vi~amins, or med~icaments to be added to the feed by simple dissolution in the water. Nutrients can be provided in soluble form avoiding any need for provision of impregn~ted dried feeds:tuffs and especially for supplies of different impregnated feedstuffs for different stages of poultry de~elopment or in response to variations in day to day requirements.
Indeed a~farmer may obtain an independent supply of powde~ed feed with which the additives may be combined.
Pelleting of -feed can cause thermal degradation of certain ng~die~ts. Dried additives are easier to store and transp~rt and are more stable than impregnate~ foodstuffs. Addition of enzymes t~ the wet feed allows breakdown of the foodstuff to commence before ingestion by the birds. This contrasts with u~e of dried ~eeds in which enzymic addltiv2s are only activated after ingesti-on Thickening agents may be added to the wet feed in order to increase the amount of water which may be added without /

WO93J00017 PCT/GBg2/01134 : , 9 ~i Çi formation of a supernatant wa~er layer.
Use of feed in accordance with this invention facilitates distribution within an intenæi~e husbandry ~uilding or other facility. The necessity for mixing the dried feed and water adjacent or within the building confers a considerable advantage. In conventional intensive facilities mixing apparatus is not necessary. However when a mixer is pr~vided a farmer may elect to mix his own feed from locally available ingredients. This affords a greater flexibility of supply and can result in increased efficiency. Water may be mixed to the dried feed either immediately ~efore use or at a convenient period beforehand, for example 24 hours before use. A single batch of wet feed may be prepared and used during the following 24 hours. ~etabolisability of feed has not been found to significantly deteriorate upon soaking.
A further advantage is that the liquid feed may be cooked before use to release nutrients and enhance digestibility, in which case thermally s~nsitive additives could be introduced after cooking.
The invention is further described ~y means of examples but not in any limitati~e æen.~e, with refexence to the accompanying drawing which shows ~ schematic view of apparatus adapted for carrying out:the invention.
; The apparatus shown in the drawing is used -for wet feeding of poultry.: Bulk feed hoppers 1 are arranged to allow one or more bulk feeds to be applied to a mixing tank 4 by:use of motors 2 which drive an suger 3. The mixing tank 4 is insulated to prevent heat loss. Load cells 5 serve to determine the weight vf feed or water within the mixing tank 4.
A water tank 6 preferably incorporates heating means ~not shown~:and is connected to the mixing tank 4 by a pump 7 which se~es to meter water æupplied from tank 6 through a delivery pipe ~. An auxiliary tank 9 allows storage of water soluble or misci~le materials such as amino acids, medicines~ minerals or vitam~ns for addition to the tank 6 or dire~tly to the mixing tank 4 via a bypass pipe 19. A water meter 10 serves to regulate the supply of water to the auxiliary tank 9. Meter 12 WO93~00017 PCT/GB~2/01134 : 21119~6 -- _5_ .

serves to control the supply from the main water supply 11, the water supply to the drinkers 13 being also connected to the main supp~y 11. A control unit 14 connected to the load cells 5, pump 7, meters 10 and 12 and motor 2 is supplied by a mains electricity supply 18~ A motor 16 drives a driving chain, helical screw or other arrangement to distribute wet feed into feed trough 15 which extends through the poultry shed. The wall of the poultry shed is shown at 17.
Alternative apparatus may be employed in accoFdance with this invention. A stirrer may be provided in the mixing tank 4. The heating means may be omitted.
In use of the apparatus one or more dry feeds may be delivered to the mixing tank 4. Water which may be pre-hea~ed and which may incorporate additives from the auxiliary tank 9 is delivered to the mixing tank 4 from the water tank 6. The mixture of water, dried feed and additives is then delivered by the driving chain or other ~rrangement through the feed trough 15 to the poul~ry (not shown). The trough 15 may be arranged in a cyclical manner or otherwise as convenient.
The follnwing:examples include trials which were ~arried out under the same~conditions as are employed in large scale : ~ poultry husbandry.~ The results are applicable to rearing o~
: larger:numbers of blrds under intensive husbandry conditions.
,~ ~ In any row;~of;values those with the same letter do not I ~ differ significantly.~Different letters indicate statistically signi:ficant dif~erences,: with a probability of less than 5%.
The abbreviation TRT refers to "treatment".

SET A

ADDING 50% WATER~ TO THE DIET ON VO~UNTARY FOOD I~TAKE IN
BROILERS ~ :
TRT1: Birds fed~normal dry feed as control ~ irds) : TRT2: Bi~ds fed control 1 50%-added water ~12 birds) Age: 4 - 7 W~eks ! ~ Results: 7 wee~s i WO93/000l7 PCT/GB97/01134 .:,'. ': '~ ' `

2 11~ 5 ~ -6- -Food intake (g/bird/d) 160a 172a Body weight (g) 2345a 24~2a Abdominal fat weight ~g/bird) 21a 18~5a Total lipid (g) 174a 145a ~otal protein (g) 280a 275a This experiment showed that there was no significant effect of 50% water on intake or growth.

~FFECT OF ADDING 25, 50 AND 75~ WATER TO THE DIET ON VOLUNTARY
FOOD IMTAKE IN BROILERS

TRT1: ~irds fed control (8 birds) TRT2: Birds fed control + 25~ added water (8 birds) TRT3: Birds fed control + 50% added water (8 birds) TRT4: Birds fed control 1 75~ added water (8 birds~
Age: 4 - 7 weeks Result: 7 weeks ~ : TRT1 TRT2 TRT3 TRT4 Food ~intake: : ~ 140a 129a 132a 133a (g DM/bird/d) Body weight ~g3 1883a 1863a 1834a 1839a Abdominal fat weight 26a 17b 17b 13b ~g/bird~
Total lipid (g) 202a 142ab 134ab 117b Total protein (g) 241a 280a 318a 277a This experiment showed that wet diets reduced body fat, probably by reducing dry matter intake.

EFFECT OF A~DING 75% OR 200% WATER TO THE DIET WITH NO DRI~KING
WATER O~ VOLU~TARY FOOD INTAKE IN BROILERS

WO 93/00017 PCr/GB92/01134 21~19!j 6 7_ TRT1: Birds fed control (12 birds) TRT2: Birds fed with 75% added- water; no drinking water;
(12 birds) TRT3: Birds fed + 200% added water - drinking water (6 birds) A~e: 3 - 7 weeks Results: 7 weeks TRT2 was abandoned after 1 week as feed intake was very low and birds gained little weight.

Food intake 134b 206a (g/bird~d) Body weight (g) 1688b 2327a Abdo~inal fat weight 37.6a 57a : : (g/bird) ~: : Total lipid (g~ ~158.4a 222a Total protein (g) 3:01b 395a ~: :
The experiment~ showed that 200% water adde~ to the feed : significantly i:ncreased:intake and body weight gains without ~: : affecting carcass composition; 75% addition of water, without access ~o drlnking water was;unsuitable~

EFFECT OF ADDING~150,~i75, 200 OR 225~ W~TER TO-THE ~ DIET ON
: VOLUNTARY FOOD I~TAXE IN BROILERS :

: ; TRT1: Birds fed:control (6 birds) TRT2: Blrds~fed control + 150~ added water (6 bi~ds) TRT3: Birds~fed~control ~ 175%~added w~ter (6 birds~

: TRT4: Birds~fed::control ~ 20`0~added water (6 birds) TRT5: Birds:fed control 1 22~ added water (6 birds) ;Age: 4 -~7 weeks : Results: 7 weeks TRT1 TRT2 TRT3 T~T4 TRT~

~' , ~

WO93/00017 PCT/~B92/011~

~ 11 19~ 6 -8- ~

Food intake 161~ 224a 215a 221a. 227a (g/bird/d) Body weight ~g) 1919b 2518a 2430a 2497a 2459a Abdominal fat 31.5b 47.5a 48a 57,5a 51.5a weight (g/~ird) Total lipid 192b 236ab 246ab 217a~ 275a Total protein (g) 216b 318a 300a 325a 305a All four rates of addition of water to the feed significantly increased feed intake and growth to an approximately equal extent.

EFFECT OF A~DING 200% WATER TO THE DIET WITH OR WITHOUT
DRINKING WATER ON VOLUNTARY FOOD INTAKE IN BROILERS

TRT1: Birds fed control (8 birds) TRT2: Birds fed.oontrol ~ 200% added water without access to drinking water (8 hirds) ~ TRT3: Birds fed control ~ 200% added water with access to ,~ drinking wa~er (8 birds) ~: Age: 4-- 7 weeks Results: 7 weeks ;

TRTl TRT2 TRT~
Food intake 185b 221a 225a (g/bird/d) Body weight (g) : 21û3b 2603a 2712a Abdominal fat weight 25a 23a 28 ; ' ~
To~al lipid : ~ 205a 271a ~ 235a Total protein (g) : ~ 297b 376a 376a The improvement in intake and growth:- was seen when th~
birds have free access to water~ However, providing drinking water did not interfere with the growth-stimulating effects of wet feed and lS ~eneficial since there was no risk of the :birds' welfare being compromised from lack of water.

. .

WO 93/00017 PCr/GB92/01134 200% WATEP~ IN THE DIET FOR FEMALE BROILERS
The possibility that the phenomenon is restricted to males kept under short day lengths was tested by using females under 23 hours lighting per day.

TRT1: Birds fed control (9 birds) TRT2: Birds fed control + 200% water - drinking water (9 birds) Age: 2 - 7 weeks Results: 7 weeks TRTl TRT2 Food intake 146b 166a (g/bird/d) Body weight (g) 1763b 22~4a A~dominal ~at weight 44a 54a : Digestibility of DN (%) 65a 73a : ' :The effect of :wet feeding was significant with female :; broilers continuously illuminated and diges~ibility m~y have : been improved.
~: :
~: EXAMPLE 7 ~ ~ ~
RESTRIC:TIONS OF WET FE:ED INTAKE TO THE SAME DRY: MATTER INTAKE
AS CONTROL FE~ALE BROILERS

: T~Tl: Birds fed control (8 birds) TRT2: Birds fed same weight of DM as that consumed by ::: : TRT1, but with 200% added water; no drinking water ~8 : birds ) TRT3: Birds fed control 200~ added water; no drinking : water (8~birds) ge: 4 - 7 weeks:
Results: 7 weeks : .

9 ~

Food intake (g/birdtd~ 178b 180b 192a Body weight (g) 2228b 2315ab 2372a Abdominal fat weight (9) 56a 51a 67a Digestibility of DM (~) 63a 67a 72a Thi.s experiment showed that restriction of wet-fed birds to the same DM intake as controls allowed an increase in performance which was intermediate between that which occurs when wet feed or dry feed is offered ad libitum. The effect of wet feeding in this case was therefore to stimulate a higher voluntary feed intake and to improve efficiency of feed utilization 200% WATER IN THE DIET FOR COCKERELS OF AN EGG--LAYING STRAIN

TRT1: Birds fed control ( 6 birds ~
TRT2: Birds fed c:ontrol + 200% added water ( 6 birds ) Age: 3 - 6 wéeks Results: 6 weeks . TRT1 TRT2 Food intake ~gJbird/d) 79a 89a Body weight (~) . 746b 815a The effect of wet feeding on weight gain was significant al~hough than on feed inta~e was not.

OFFERING A CHOICE BETWEEN DRY FOOD AND 200% ADDED WATER I~
COCKERELS OF AN EG&-LAYI~G STRAIN :

~ TRT1: Birds fed a choice of control and 200~ water with ~ :access to drinking water (5 birds) -- ~
:~ TRT2: Birds fed a choice of control and 200% added water without access to drinking water ~5 birds) Age: 4 - 6 weeks Results: 6 weeks ~3~il9~ ~

Wet food intake (gDM/bird/d) 5a 52b Dry food intake (gDM/bird/d) 66b 14a Total food intake (g/bird/d) 71a 67a Body weight (g) 739a 741a When given access to drinking water the birds greatly preferred to eat dry food but in the absence of drinking water they ate wet food to give the same DM intake and grew at the same rate.

~@T~
30096 WATEE~ IN THE ~)IET FOR MALE BROILERS

TRT1: Birds fed control (6 birds) TRT2: Birds fed control ~ 300% water withou~ drinking water (6 birds) The experiment was stopped after 2 days because the birds refused to eat even though they became very hungry. There was a layer of water on top of the food which prevented the birds reallsing that there~was~food beneath. ~
: This experiment:showed that 300~ is too much water to add to the feed.

SET B
Eighteen pens: were used in the experimental hroiler house, a~oiding those at:the ends of the building. Initially 100 day-old birds were~placed in each ~50 male, 50 female) and ~ed~ the standard starter feed ad libitum. Free access to drinking water was given throughout. The experiment started 11 days from arrival~ when:the total weight:of the birds in each pen was recorded. ~ Ten males and 10 females, whi~h had been kept in other pens, were weighed individually, wing-tagged for individual identification, and added to each pen to-give a total of 120 birds. The groups and the 20 individua~s within each group were weighed again on days 26, 3~ and 41. Deaths were recorded daily.
Feedina WO93~00017 PCT/GB92/01134 21119~& -12-Three feeds with the same formulation (Table 1~ were prepared. One waS pelleted and fed dry in the conventional way to six pens; the second was also pelleted and mixed with twice its weight of water in accordance with the invention left overnight and then fed to a further six pens. The third was left unpelleted and mixed with twice its weight of water also in accordance with the invention the day before being offered to the remaining six pens.

Table 1. Formulation .and comDositi~n of the feeds (source:
Dal~etv Aariculture) MAIN INGREDIENTS: g / kg FiIle Wheat 701 Hi-Protein Soya 74 Full-Fat Soya 100 Chilean Fish Meal 40 Meat Meal : 40 Fat ~ 30 Vitamins, Minerals and ~dditives 15 :: :
Table 2. comDosition of the~ fe~ds (source: Dalaetv A~NYSI S ~ . g / kg Oil~ 77 P~otein ~ 9 Crude Fibre~ ~ ~ 27 Ash ~ 48 Moisture 98 ~ , l :~ : Within-a few~days it became clear that neither of the wet feeds were absorbing all of the added water, leaving a layer of upernatant water making it diffi~ult for the birds to eat.
: The amounts of water added were ~herefore reduced from 200% to 160% and 120% for the pelleted and unpelleted wet feeds, respectively. The amounts of feed added to the trou~hs in each pen were increased daily so as to leave only small remainders.

,, , ., . , . , . , ~.. .. . .

WO 93/00017 PCr/GB92/01134 l3211~9~ 6 Slauahter On day 41, 5 tagged males and 5 tagged females from each of two pens per treatment were killed, plucked and eviscerated.
On day 42 another third of the pens were killed and the remainder on day 43. The carcasses were weighed and chilled to be minced a few days later. The digestive tracts were weighed full and empty; the abdominal fat pad was weighed. The minced samples were sent to Leeds to be analysed for fat, protein, ash and dry matter.

Statistical analvsis Data were analyæed for the effect of treatment by analysis of variance.
Results Live weiaht@
Mean live weights or all the birds on each treatment are given in Table 3. By day 34 both wet-fed groups were significantly heavier than those on dry f0ed but at the end of the experiment only those given wet mash having a porridge like con~istency were sig~ificantly heavier than controls.
..
Table 3. Mean live wei~hts of six ~EouDs of_100 birds ~er treatment : ~
.
Age (days) Dry pellets Wet pellets Wet mash sed .` ~ 11 357a ~ 357a 357a 2.5 26 1260a : 1266a 1277a 3.8 : 34 1826a 1876b 1874b 13.2 i 41 2303a 2356ab 2367b 25.4 i~ The mean weights of those 20 birds per pen which were weighed individually were~similar to the groups presented abover but the differences did not ~ttain statistical significance.
- Feed~in~k~ :
Mean feed intakes are given in Table 4.
Table 4.. Yolynt~rv re-d intake (ka ai -drY feed ~er bird per ~ daY: means of six Pens:l.
.i, . .

W093/00017 . PCT/GB92/011~
2111~

Age ~days~ Dry pellets Wet pellets Wet mash sed ~ 9.9a 30.1a 30.6a 0.35 12-26 103.8a 94.6b 93.4b 2.1 27-34 144.3a 143.5b 134.2b 2.6 35-41 148.9a 140.1b 140~2b 2.5 Total over 4084a 3878b 3~g2b 41.7 the whole 41 days Conversion ratio Overall conversion ratios were 1.79, 1.69 and 1.66 (sed, 0.02) for dry pellets, wet pellets and wet mash, respectively~
The improvement given by both wet feed treatmen~s was significant compared to the dry feed.
Slau~ter ~ata Table 5 shows that there was no effect of treatment on carcass weight or a~dominal fat. Intestine weight, both full and empty tend~d~to be less after wet f~eeding while the weight of contents:(full;~- empty~ tended to be less for dry feeding.

emDt~_intest1ne~s.~
~elght ~(g~ ~Dry~ellets Wet pellets Wet mash sed Carcass 1~677a :~ 166~a 1654a38.6 abdominal fat :52.5:a~:: : 52.4a ~4.0a 2.3 :
inte~t,ine ~ull 180a 171a 1~4a 5.7 int~s~ine empty 14~a 120a 120a 4.9 Carcass ~ L~LE
No obvious di~ferences attributable to dietary treatment were ~pparent.

SET C
50 bi~ds were: kept in groups supplied with Dalgety starter feed untll day 15 when 36 were caged indi~idually and 12 birds (6 male, 6~ female) offered each of the three dietary :; tTeatments. Free access to drinking water was given :: ~ throughout. Each bird was weighed individually on days 19, 25, ::: :

2i ll~5 ô
,~

29, 36, 43 and 47 Feedina The same three feeds were used as described in Set B
above. Each cage was provided with one container of féed and one of water. From days 15 to 19 the water addition to both pellet and mash wet feeds was 200% but this was then reduced to 160% and 120%. Feed intake was recorded daily.
Slauahter All birds were killed, plucked and eviscerated.on day 47.
The carcasses were weighed and frozen to b~ minced two weeks later. The digestive tract was weighed full and empty; the abdominal fat pad was weighed. The minced samples were analysed for fat, protein, ash and dry matter.
Results Live weiqht Mean Iive weights for all the birds on each treatment are given in Table 6, Although the birds on the wet feeds tended to grow faster in the middle of the experiment, by the end the weights were very similar and at no stage were there significant effects of treatment.

Table~6. Live wel~hts at V~LL us sta~ n~_~h~ ~9~Llm~nt, Age (days) ~ry pellets Wet pellets Wet mash sed 19 522a 51 9a 531 a 29 .
: ~ 2~ 861 a : 891 a 892a 37 . 4 :
:29 11:20a: 1203a 1191a 47.9 36 1591a 1706a 1721a 76.9 43 2243a 2305a 2309a 117.8 47 ~521a ' 2495a 2521a 11t.7 Feed ~
~Nean daily feed intakes during:each period are given in : T ble 7. Although the wet feeds tended to be eaten in reduced quantities, compared to the dry, this was only signific nt from days 37-43.
:~ , ~` Table 7. Mean feed intakes over several staqes of - the exPeriment~
,, :

2~195 6 -.6-A~e (days) Dry pellets Wet pellets Wet mash sed 19-25 101a 101a 107a 4.7 26-29 125.9 114.0 117.0 6.4 30-36 151.5a 151.9a 151.2a 8.5 37-43 188.3a 154.0b 162.3b 10.0 44-87 196.6a 178.1a 170.6b 13.8 Total over 4280a 3863b 402~ab 178.2 days 19-47 Conversion ratio Overall conversion ratios were 2.15, 1.g8 and 2.03 ~sed, 0.092) for dry pellets, wet pellets and wet mash, respectiYely, the differences not being significantly different.
Slauahter data Table 8 shows weights taken at slaughter. There were tendencies for heavier carcasses and less abdominal fat in the wet mash treatment, ~ut these were not significant. Intestinal weights, both full and empty were significantly reduced by wet pellets while weight~of digesta was slightly reduced by the wet feeds.

:Table 8. Weiahts~of_ carcasses, abdom~nal fat and full and em~tY intestines.
Weight (g)~ Dry pellets ~ : Wet pellets Wet mash sed carcass :1755a~ : : 1773a 1847a 96.
abdominal fat 47.3a ~ - 40.3a 38.~a -6. ï
intestine :; 176.7a ~ 148.3b ~160.~ab 9.7 intestine 133. 6a 113.1b 126.7ab 9.7 Qmpty Carc~ g~:
o otjvious ~differences in carc~ss~ composition due t~
dietary treatmént:were apparent.

: SET D
FEEDING WET DIET TO BROILER CHICKENS FROM HATCHING
e~hods~
Ninety day old male broiler chicks were divided into 1 , :

W093/00017 PCT/GB92~011~
2 ~

groups (6 chicks each) and allocated to 5 treatments (TRT1, TRT2, TRT3, TRT4, TRT5), replicated three times. TRT1 bixds were fed dry feed (Dalgety ~roiler starter) throu~hout; T~T2 was p~ovided with wet food (2kg water/kg feed) im~ediately after arrival but proceeded to climb into the feeders and cake their down with wet feed so dry feed was offered; when the switch to wet feed was made at 3 days there were no problems.
The other three treatments were switched from dry to wet feeds at 7, 11 and 15 days, respectively, and the experimen.t finished when the birds were 19 days of age. Wet food was prepared 2 or 3 timés a day and given to the birds without svaking. The feed ahsorbed all the water immediately, so there was no water separation from the diet at any time.
Results The results are shown in Table 9. It will be seen that there was an increase in weight gain during t.he three days after starting wet feeding and that this advantage was maintained for the rest of the experiment. At 19 days the birds which had been on wet feed since 3 days and 7 days were significantly hea~ier than controls, the 3-day birds being 1~%
heavier than those fed on dry feed and the gain from 3 days was greater by 17.5%.~
Feed intake~ (~expres-~ed as air-dry feed) was not significantly affe~ted by treatment but tended to be higher with the wet feeds, particularly at the end of the experiment.
Feed effici~ncy~was impr~ved in almost every case once wet feeding had~ been introduced, but in no case was t~is statistically significant, because each mean is based on only three observations in ~iew of the group feeding used in! the experiment. Over the whole period of the experiment the improvement was 13%, comparing dry-fed controls with those on wet :f~ed ~from 3 days of age. The other groups were inter~ediate in efficiency. Expressed as weight of feed per uni~ of weight gain the value for dry feeding s 1.52 while that for wet feeding from 3 days is 1.34.
Carcass weight was significantly increased by feeding wet diets, the increase for chicks on wet feed from 3 days bein~

WO93/00017 PCT/GB92/Oll~
2111~ 6;
. -18-20% greater than dry-fed ~ontrols. The significant increase in body weight and carcass weight was not reflected in abdominal fat which was similar for all treatments at 19 days of age.

Table 9 Dry from 3d from 7d from 10d from 13d Body weight (g/bird) 3 days 77' 78' 77' 78' 77' 2.8 7 days 1 67b 181 166~ 1 69b 161 b ~ . 8 11 days 293 323 306~ 287b 294b 9 7 15 days457b 510' 498 482b 451 b 12.7 19 days637C 736' 700~ 677~ 675~ 24.2 Fo~d intake (g DM/bird/d) 7 days 27' 28a 27~ 27' 26~ 1.3 11 days 43~ 43~ 45' 42' 44' 1.0 15 d~ys 64A 64' ~68' 64' 63' ~.2 19 d~s 78' ~6" 83' 82' 87' 5.9 Total food intake (:g DM/bird) 3-19 848' 884~ 889' 862' 884' 16.9 days Feed efficiency ~g gain/g feed)~ ~
7 days 0.860' 0.917~ 0.832' 0.850' 0.8Q0~ ~ 0.09 11 days : 0.735' ~ 0~831- : 0.781~ 0.69g' 0.754' 0.05 15 days ~0.~439 : 0.753- ~ 0.712~ 0.757~ 0.623' 0.0~
19 da~s -0.5~9~ 0.6~6a: ~ 0.614~ 0~593~ 0.644~ 0.08 3-1g~ ~.660' :~0.74S~ 0.7~03~- 0.6g5' V.677' 0.03 days ~
Carcass weight (gibird) 19 d~ys 422b 5~9 492' 489 483D 20.3 bdominal fat~(g/bird) 19 days~ ~S.0'~ ~s.~r ~5.7' 5.1' ~.5~
~Means in the same~:row at the same~ age with different letters are si~nifican~ly different ~p<0.05)~TRT3 = birds fed wet- food 2~0g/k~ added water from 7-19 days.
:

, : ;

WO 93/00017 PCI/GB92tO1134 2 ~ 6 SET E
Period of Soakina Materials and Methods Thirty two, 25-day old Mayfield male broiler c~icks were divided into 4 groups (8 chicks e~ch) with the same mean body weight. They were kept in indiYidual cages, eight on each of the following treatments, until 40 days of age: DRY was f~d Dalgety ~rower food in the air-dry form, SOAK0, SOAK12 and SOAK24 were fed the same grower diet with the addition of 1600 g water/ kg of air dried food. Por SOAK0 the food was mixed with the water and offered immediately after mixing, for SOAK12 the food was mixed and kept for 12 hours before feeding, while for SOAK24 the food was mixed and kept for 24 hours before feeding.
Food intake was measured d~ily while body weight was recorded at 25, 30, 37 and 40 days of age. ~xcreta were collected for a four-day period for the estimation of DM
digestibility. All the birds were killed at 40 days of age or the measurement of carcass and abdominal fat weight.
R~sults The results are shown in Table 10. After five days of the experiment~the increase in body weight ~or the chick in SOAX0 and SOAK12~were significantly greater than thsse in DRY.
SOAK0 gained 204 gm~more:than DRY in this period. However, at 40 days of age all the chicks fed wet food were significantly heavier than those~fed air dry food. Total body: weight gain was increased dramatically for those in SOA~O (43~), while those on SOAK12 and :S0AK24 were increased by 18 and 22%
respecti~ely. The increase in body wei~ht for the chicks fed wet food~was proportionately greater than;the:increase in food intake ie i~proved food csnversion ef~iclency.
: Total food intake for SOAKO was increased significantly from those in DRY~and S0AK24 by 18.7 and 12%. Carcass weight was in~reased in parallel with body weight, but there was no difference in the deposition of abdominal fat.

WO 93/00017 . PCI`/GP~92/0113~
2~195 6 ~ i --2û--Table 10. _ Effect_of lenclth of soakinq time of_ feed on the performance of male_broiler chicks.

Body weight ~ g ) 25 days 923' 924' 922' 923' ~6.2 30 days 1 357b 1560~ 1510' 1485~ 68.7 37 days 1 905c ~238' 2040bC21 05'b 78 . 9 40 days 2037C 2520~ 2236b 2281b 92 . 3 Total gain ( g ) 25 40 days 1114C 1595' 131 4b~ 358b 80 . 6 Food intake (g/bird/d) 25 days 104~ 1~7~ 103' 104~ 4.2 30 days 1l7b l49a 146' 130' 8.9 37 days l48C 175- 161 b 157~ 5.3 40 days 1 47c 190~ 1 69b 1 56b 7.9 Total food intake (g/bird/d) 25-40 days 2268C 2661' 2513~ 2378~ 83.0 Carcass weight (g) 40 days 1~38b 1815' 1598~ 1697~ 74.7 Abdominal fat weight (g) 40 days 28.7~ 28.9~ 25.0' 27.0' 3.
~ood efficiency (g-gain/g food~ ~
25-40 days 0.49~ 0.602 0.52~ 0.57~ 0.02 Food conversion (g~ food/g gain) 2~-40 days 2~00~ 1. 67b 1 . 69~ 1. 74b , Digest~bility 67. 7b ~ 71,4a 66.4b 68.6~ 2.1 Means in the same row at the same age with different letters ase significantly dif ferent (pcO.05).
:SED - standard error of difference between means The experiments of sets B and C described above showed reductions in fèed intake and little difference in body weight gain, carcass weight or carcass composition. ~fficiency of conversion in Set B:was significantly improved from 1.79 with dry faed to 1.69 with the wet pellets and 1.66 with the wet mash. Although in Set C the conversion ratios were not WO93/00017 2 ~1~ 9 ~ ~ PCT/~B~2/011~

. , significantly affected by treatment ~hey improved to a similar extent to those in Set B and it is-not believed that there were real differences in the effects of giving wet feeds between the two sets.
For the first few days intake of wet feed was low and growth retarded. Once the rate of addition of water had been reduced to give the same sort of "porridge" consistency as previously used these problems disappeared~ It is well known that compensatory growth occurs after a period of.restricted feeding and it must be considered that the improved efficiency during the remainder of the experiment was due to that phenomenon. However, the period of restriction was only of a few days duration and did not~ in Set B, grossly reduce intake.
Even by day 26 there was no suggestion of differences in body weight ~Table 2~. In Set C the birds were reallocated to treatments when the water content of the wet feeds was reduced so that any tendency for compensatory growth was spread evenly across all treatments. The improvement in efficiency observed in the wet feed treatments was not due to compensato~y growth.
~ The; results o~:Sets B and C are different from those of previous experiments which showed increased weight gains, car~ass weights; ~and:~feed intakes, stil:l with improved e~ficiency. An explanation may be the poor qua~ity of the feed pre~iously used~whi~h~had~a dry matter (DM) digestibility of only:65%, impro~ed~:to 73% by being fed in the wet form.
G~wthrwas limited~by diet ~ ality; when the latter was improved by wetting, growth was faster. With the Dalgety feed used in Sets B and C diet quality was not thought to limit growth even when fed dry~ the birds were giowing at ~heir maximum potential~rate~so that the improvement in nutritive value presumed to be~given by wetting result~d in reduced ~eed intake, not increased growth~ The net result in all cases is improved efficiency. It is well established that broilers per~ormed extremely well in Set B, where many birds were kept in one pen,.whereas it is well known that the individual caging used ln Set C reduces~gxowth below maximum. The performance of the birds in Set:C was inferior to that in Set B and this poo~

:
7, ~ :
1, ~ ~ -22-rj ~
growth rate was not improved by wetting the feed. This result suggested that diet quality was not the limiting factor.
Using the results from Set B, to achieve almost exactly the same carcass weights the wetting of pellets saved 206g of air-dry feed per bird while the wet mash saved 292g, compared with the same pelleted feed fed dry in the conventional manner.
There is also a further saving due to avoidance of the need to pellet the feed and the possibility that a small reduction could be made in the protein content of the formulation as there will be no denaturation during pelleting.
The above experiments were carried out on three types of dry feed,one of Bradshaws Feed and two of Dalgety~s. It is to be understood that the optimum amount of water which should be a~ded to a dry feed depends on the brand ~f dry feed being used, and also on the batch of that particular dry feed. ~very batch of dry feed produced by a ~anufacturer, will vary in its constituents. This means that the optimum amount of water to be added will also ~ary.
In generaI, as mentioned above the correct consistency :for a we~ feed according to the invention will be one of a wet mash or "porridge" consistency. :If too much water is added to the dry feed, a layer~ of water will be formed above the dry .
:: : feed. This is to :be avoided, as the birds feeding from the :~feed are put off by having to dip their beaks into a iayer of ~ water.
: The wet feed according to the invention may ~e used raw, o~ alternativel~, the wet feed may be cooked before being given to the poultry. ~This improves the digestibility of the feed.
The use of the`letters 'a' or 'b' after numbers in a row ~:of a table signi~ies whether a num~er in a row differs significantly from the~other ~umbers in that row.
A number di~fering from the other numbers in a row could : appear with, for example, the letter 'a' after it, whilst the other ~wo numbers would have a 'b' after them.
.~The a~brevia~ion 'sed/ represents standard error deviation.
Conversion ratio is defined as the ratio of the weight of 2.3~19~ ~

food eaten by a bird, to the weight of the bird. Efficiency is defined as the reciprocal of the conversion ratio.

SET F
The Pollowing example illustrates application of the invention on a larger scale.
19,000 day-old Cobb chicks were housed in two sheds (9,500 chicks each). Earh shed was divided into two e~ual parts containing 4750 chicks. All the chicks were fed Dalgety starter until 8 days of age. From day 8 chicks in the far end of both sheds were fed Dalgety grower pellets and the near end were fed tthe same grower diet mixed with 180Q g water/kg air dry food. Body weight was measured at 2, 8, 17, 23, 30, 38 and 45 days oP age by weighing 100 chicks individually from each end of both sheds. At slaughter 12 samples from each group were taken for the deter~ination of abdominal liver anG gut weight.
The following rBsults were obtained.

Wet Feed ~EY~
Total food intake (kg/bird) 4.5S 4.62 To~al average weight galn (kglbird 2.29 2.17 Average fosd conv~rsion ratio 1.99 2.13 ~ There was a significantly greater gain in body weight for wet fad birds in both sheds. This shows that the invention can be used for large scale rearing of poultry. Birds and feeds as used above wre used to measure digestability which for the dry food was 64.9% while for food soaked up to 1 hour it was 70.2~
and for food soaked for up to 8 hours it ws 70.6%. This is further e~idence of~ a major effect of wet feeding on the availability oP nutrients from the food.

(A3 FEED COMPOSI~IO~ .
G~od ~iolo~ical results from the invention can be obtained if the poultry dry feed is one of medium to high WO93/00017 PCT/GB9~/01134 2 ~ 6 . . -2~-nutrient density as described in terms of its energy (as measured by Metabolizable Energy(~E) in MJ/kg) and protein (Crude Protein %).
a) Nutrient Content For the different classes of poultry, the major nutrient composition in minimum terms, given such medium to high nutrient densi~y dry feed requirements of preferred feeds is described below:-Maior Nutrient ComPosition DrY Feed Age Min. Min. Min. Min.
(weeks) Crude ME Calcium Sodium Protein % (MJ/kg~ % %
__ A) Re~lacement Pellets : Chick 0-8 16 9.5 0.8 0.11 Grower 4-18 14 9.5 0.7 0.11 Pre Layer 15-20 14 9.5 0.8 0.11 B) LaYer 15~ 15 9.5 2.8 0.11 C): Breeder Pre Breeder 15-2~ 14 9.5 1.0 0.11 Broiler 18-110 15 g.5 2.0 0.11 :: -aye~ 110 : 15 9.5 2.8 0.11 Turkey Pre Breeder 24-110 12 9.~ 0.9 0.1, Turkey ::. 24~ 14 9.5 2.0 0.11 ~: Duck ~ 15-110 ~: 14 9.5 2.0 0.11 ~: Game ` :15-110 lS 9.5 2.0 0.11 D) ~5~L~E
Starter 0-4 ; 20 12 0.7 !0.11 Grower ~ 2-6 19 12 0.7 0.11 : Finisher~ 3-8 . : 18 12 0.65 0.11 Withdrawal 4-10: 17 12 0.65 0.11 Roaster Finisher: 6-10 15 11 0.65 0.11 ~E~: IYE~
; ~ Starter 0-4 26 11 0.7 0.11 Re~rer/Grower 2-10~ 22 10.5 0.7 0.11 ~; Finishers : 10-30 . 16 9-~ 0.65 0.11 ~ :, ',:

WO93/00017 PCT/GB92/0l134 211~56 -~5- ..

F) Game Starter 0-4 24 11 0.7 0.11 Grower 2-10 20 10.~ 0.7 0.11 Poult 6-20 15 4.5 0.65 0.11 Maintenance 15-110 14 9.5 0.65 0.11 B PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Good results may be obtained in use of this invention if the Modulus of Fineness of any meals and/or mash dry feeds lies between the value of 3 and 6. The ~odulus Fineness is a measure of the particle size distribution of the dry feed derived through a sieve test as follows:-: MODULUS OF FINENESS
! Mesh SizeWei~ht on S_eve (%) 3.35 mm W1 W1 ~,~. 1.70 m~ W2 W1 -~ W2 1.18 mm W3 W1 + W2 ~ W3 600 um ~ : ~W~ : W1 + W2 ~ W3 ~ W4 425 um ~W5 ::~W1;+ W2 ~ W3 + W4 + W5 : 300 um :W6 ~ W1 ~ W2 ~ W3 ~ W4 + W5 ~ W6 : Tray - : W7 ::
: Total ~ 0 : Modulus of Fineness =~6W1 ~ 5W2 ~ 4W3 + 3W4 + 2W5 + 1W6 s ,~ ., I ~ !
With pelleted feeds, good results are obtained for : products:manufactured~in a press with a die of 0.50 mm to 4.00 mm ~ore. ~uch pelleted feed5 may either be mixed with water in - thei~:original form ~r after due processin~ in a standard : c~umbed or ground physical state.
'l -: 1. Where Crude Protein (~) as ~a3 ~elow.
2. ME(MJ)/kg~ = 0.1551 x ~ Crude Protein(a~ + 0.3431 x , ~ ~
~ % oil(b) + 0.1669:x % Starch(c) + 0.1301 x % total Sugar .,~
~ (exp~essed as sucrose)(d).

2~113~6 -26-~ a) determined by method 4 of the methods of analysis specified in Schedule 2 of the United Kingdom Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) Regulations 1982 (S I 1982/1144, amended by S I 198~/52 and 1985/1119).
(b) Determined by procedure B of method 3 of methods of analysis specified in Schedule 2 of the United Kingdom Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) Regulations 1982. (The rel~vant amending statutory instrument is S I 1985/1119)~
NB It is preferred that the pre-extraction of oil prior to acid hydrolysis is always carried out on compound feed.
~ c) Determined by method 30a ~Polarimetric Method) of the methods of analysis specified in Schedule 2 of the United Kingdom Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) Regulations 1982.
(d~ Determined by method 1Oa of the methods of analysis ~ specified in Schedule ~2 of the United Kingdom Feeding Stuffs l~ (Sampling and Analysis) Regulations 1982.
~ b) aw_Material ~ t `` ~he raw materials which can be used to provide madium and high nutrient density dry feeds best suited to the invention can~be~selected from:
: A combination of cereals, cereal by-products, food industry by-products, vegetable proteins, other plant . ~ proteins-, marine` proteins, animal proteins, miner~ls, ~: :
vitamins, animal fats,~vegetable fats, other plant fats and synthetic amino acids.
Bacteriocides and mould inhi~itors as well as other ~preservatives, licensed colorant and antibiotic or ch~mical gxowt~ promoters and medicinal products may be added to the dry~feed. :
The invention allows:raw materials and/or mi~ro ingredients and~tor medicinal and non-medicinal additives routinely added to poultry diets, and which are water soluble or can be rendered so through processing, to be excluded from the dry feed and be added through tne water phase.
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Claims (12)

-27-

1. An intensive poultry husbandry wet feed including dry feed and between 100 and 250% by weight of water.

2. Intensive poultry husbandry feed as claimed in Claim 1 including 125 to 225% water.

3. Intensive poultry husbandry feed as claimed in Claim 2 including 150 to 200% water.

4. Intensive poultry husbandry feed as claimed in any preceding claim including additives or other nutrients dissolved in the water.

5. Intensive poultry husbandry feed as claimed in any preceding claim incorporating a thickening agent.

6. Intensive poultry husbandry feed as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mixed dry feed and water has been cooked.

7. Use of a wet feed in accordance with any preceding claim for intensive poultry husbandry.

8. Use of a wet feed in accordance with claim 7, for intensive chick husbandry.

9. Use of a wet feed as claimed in claim 7 or 8 wherein additives or other nutrients are dissolved in the water prior to mixing with the dry feed.

10. Intensive poultry husbandry apparatus including:
a mixing vessel; a store for storage of dried feed; a supply of water; means for mixing predetermined amounts of dried feed and water in said mixing vessel; and distribution means arranged to deliver the mixture of dried feed and water to the poultry.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 further including a supply of additives and means adapted to deliver a predetermined quantity of the additives to the mixing vessel.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claims 10 or 11 including means for heating the supply of water.