Early Post Hatch Nutrition on Growth and Development in Commercial Broiler Chickens – A Review

In the commercial hatchery, chicks hatch over a period of 24–48 h. The chicks are removed from the incubator after majority of the chicks are cleared from the shell. Then the chicks have to undergo hatchery practices like sexing, vaccination, packaging and transport before they are placed in the farm. Thus, under practical conditions chicks are deprived of feed and water for about 48–72 after hatching. In the newly hatched chicks, residual yolk serves as a source of nutrient till access to exogenous source of feed. However, it is reported that residual yolk may be sufficient to keep the birds alive for the first 3 to 4 days, but does not support the bird's genetic potential for body weight gain, development of gastrointestinal tract or immune system. Delaying access to feed and water mobilizes body reserves to support metabolism and thermal regulation in the neonate chicks, which resulted in retardation of body weight and impairment of overall performance. Approximately 2 to 5% of the hatchlings do not survive the critical post hatch adjustment period and many survivors show stunted growth and poor feed utilization, reduced immunity and low meat yield. However, all these above limitations can be alleviated by bridging the gap between hatch and first feeding, thereby early provision of nutrients to the chicks. The effect of early post hatch nutrition on yolk sac utilization, gastro-intestinal tract development, growth performance and meat yield in broiler chickens is reviewed hereunder.