The effects of different feed restriction programs on performance and occurrence of ascites syndrome in Arian broiler chickens under cold stress condition

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different programs of feed restriction on performance and ascites syndrome occurrence in Arian broiler chickens under cold stress. Four hundred Arian male broiler chicks were used in a completely randomized design with four experimental groups (control (no restriction feed); feed restriction as 25 gram feed per chick since 9 until 14 days old; feed restriction as 8 hour per day since 9 until 24 days old; intermittent feed restriction since 9 until 18 days old) and four replicates of twenty five chicks (totally 16 pens) under stress condition. The house temperature was gradually decreased from 32°C and reached to 25, 20, 15 and 15 °C respectively in the end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and until 6th weeks to induce cold stress and the development of ascites syndrome. Results indicated feed restriction programs decreased body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio in some periods. However, in the period of 1 to 42 days, these effects weren’t significant except for feed intake with feed restriction as 25-gram feed per chick (since 9 until 14 days old). Effect of the programs was respectively insignificant on total mortality, carcass traits percentages and haematocrit amount and significant on decreasing ascites mortality rate with the intermittent feed restriction. In conclusion, the feed restriction programs especially the intermittent feed restriction are effective in decreasing of ascites mortality and feed intake without any negative effect on the performance of broilers under cold stress.