12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES MSc Final Exam Seminar by Airell DesLauriers. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
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https://zoom.us/j/96387033375?pwd=MyswdE5UUk10OUtERFZlOFllYk5Udz09
Meeting ID: 963 8703 3375
Password: 2NU6SP
Thesis Topic: Application of non-linear modeling to broiler supply chain efficiencies
MSc with Dr. Doug Korver.
Seminar Abstract:
Nutritive values of feedstuffs used in broiler rations vary significantly. Wheat or corn are the primary energy sources in many broiler diets, depending on geographical availability. As feed is a large proportion of live production costs, broiler operations may decrease diet nutrient density to reduce overall diet cost. The performance, yield, and allometric relationships were examined in broiler offspring from North American or European male lines crossed with Ross 708 breeder females (NA x 708; EU x 708, respectively), and fed diets of differing dietary balanced protein (DBP) levels. Growth and performance were examined on corn- (Experiment 1) and wheat (Experiment 2) based diets. It is thought the EU x 708 broilers would have higher growth and yield performance on wheat-based diets compared to the NA x 708 broilers due to primary cereal use during genetic selection. In each experiment, 1,600 broilers were allocated into 32 pens of 50 birds with 4 replicate pens per treatment. Part 1 of the thesis focused on the growth performance, yield, efficiency and allometric growth of the pectoralis muscles, drum + thigh, liver, heart, fat-pad, and total intestines of the broiler. Results indicate DBP and genetic strain are significantly interrelated on the influence of growth and development of broilers.
Part 2 of the thesis studied the energy partitioning of broiler breeder pullets reared in commercial settings. Maintenance requirements have been studied significantly in broiler breeders due to the need for feed restriction to maintain healthy body weight and reproductive performance of the flock. Many studies have been performed in research settings which can not replicate industry conditions. Metabolizable energy of maintenance (MEm) was estimated utilizing data collected from 8,558 Ross 308 broiler breeders reared in floor housing at two commercial breeder operations. MEm per metabolic body weight (BW/kg0.67) requirements were lowest during periods of high feed restriction. Our estimation of maintenance was supported by other studies under tightly regulated research settings.
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