An important part of raising chickens is feeding, it is very important that they be fed diets that meet their all of nutritional requirements for the highest productivity and health. Complete feeds must be formulated to meet metabolizable energy, protein and amino acids, fat, vitamins, macro- and micro-minerals and etc. of a particular class of poultry. Fatty acids, enzymes, chelated trace minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, pigments, medicinal herbs, herbal extracts, antioxidants, organic acids and flavoring agents are also added to diets for the best performances.
Nutrition plays a highlight role in immunity and maintaining the health of pullets, quality and quantity of egg production by laying hens and optimum body growth of broilers.
Anyway, in terms of cost, feed is the most important input and the biggest cost for industrial poultry production, and then the availability of low-priced, high-quality feeds is critical for the improvement of the poultry industry. Today, recent advances in poultry feeding and nutrition have focused on three main areas:
• Worthy understanding of nutrient metabolism and nutrient requirements.
• Determining the availability of nutrients in feed ingredients and bioavailability them in metabolic cycles. • Formulating least-cost with optimum profit diets that bring nutrient requirements and nutrient supply together.