Effects of Dietary Protein Intake on Growth and Semen Quality in Broiler Breeder Males

One hundred and eighty six-week old chicks were randomly distributed in to three dietary groups, each with three replicate of 20 birds. Three experimental iso-caloric (2750 Kcal ME/kg) grower diets containing 12, 14 and 16 percent CP were assigned to each of the three treatment groups CP12, CP14, and CP16, respectively. The daily dietary allocation was based on an energy requirement model. Weekly feed consumption and BW data were recorded. On 25^th week semen was collected from 10 birds of each treatment groups and semen quality parameters were studied. The net gain in body weight of CP16 group was 1498.44±49.20g and significantly (P≤0.05) higher than CP12 and CP14 groups without any significant difference between them. The semen volume (0.575±0.014 ml), spermatozoa concentration (5.081±0.044 millions/μl) as well as number of spermatozoa per ejaculation (2.77±0.022 billions) in CP12 group were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of CP14 and CP16 diet group. The results of the present study indicated that a grower diet with 12% CP and 2750 kcal ME/kg diet fed during growing period (6 to 20 weeks) is adequate to control mature body weight and improve semen quality in broiler breeder males.