The Effect of Quantitative and Qualitative Feed Restriction of Broiler Chicken on the Prevention of Ascites Syndrome

This experiment was conducted to compare the qualitative feed restriction and meal feeding on the performance, carcass yield and Ascites syndrome in Ross-308 broiler chickens. One hundred eighty day-old chicks raised for 42-d in a completely randomized design with five treatments, three replicates and 12 chicks per each pen. Experimental treatments included: 1) ad-libitum intake, 2) ad-libitun intake plus levothyroxin (1.6 mg/kg of diet), 3) eight-hours feed restriction per day from 7 to 14 days, 4) Ninety-five percent of straw requirements, 5) Ninety percent of straw requirements. In order to induce Ascites, 1.6 mg /kg of levothyroxine hormone were added to all treatments except for the control treatment from the day 25 of the experiment. The results showed that at the end of the experiment, body weight of the chickens that were received levothyroxine and 8 hours of feed restriction were significantly lower than control treatment (P