Effect of Sorghum-Based Diets Subjected to Various Manufacturing Procedures on Broiler Performance

Abstract

Two experiments evaluated the effect of expanding sorghum-based diets prior to pelleting on 0-to-3-wk (experiment 1) and 3-to-6-wk (experiment 2) broiler performance. In experiment 1, three forms (mash, standard crumbles, and expanded crumbles) of the same sorghum-based starter diet were each fed to 14 replicate pens of 1-d-old male chicks (8 per pen). Expansion conditioning resulted in improved pellet durability and lower fines production; however, processing differences did not affect chick live weight gain, feed intake, or feed efficiency. In experiment 2, standard pellets or expanded pellets were fed to 13 replicate pens of 3-wk-old male broilers (20 per pen). Similar to experiment 1, expansion conditioning resulted in improved pellet durability and decreased fines production, yet processing differences did not affect broiler performance.