Influence of Cellulose and Ambient Temperature on Feed Intake and Growth of Chicks

Abstract

The effects of dietary cellulose level at various ambient temperatures on the voluntary feed intake of four-week-old chicks were studied. Cellulose (as Solka Floc) was added to a basal diet at levels of 10, 20, and 30% in trial 1 and 15, 30 and 45% in trial 2. The addition of graded increments of cellulose elicited a linear increase (P<.05) in feed intake and a linear depression (P<.05) in growth rate. Cellulose tended to lower (P<.05) gains per unit of basal consumed, indicating that the nondigestible material reduced the utilization of the basal portion of the diet. Feed intakes at 15.6 and 23.9 C were not significantly different in trial 1, but chicks consumed more (P<.05) feed at 7.2 C than at 23.9 C in trial 2.