Performance of broilers fed on diets containing cooked potato flake

Synopsis

The chemical analysis of dried cooked potato flake suggests that the material might be used in diets for broilers. Starter and finisher diets containing 0, 10, 20 and 40% potato flake in place of maize meal were formulated, and fed ad libitum in pellet form to broilers. Performance of the birds and characteristics of the pellets were measured.

The performances of birds given diets containing 0, 10 and 20% potato were similar. Birds given the diet containing 40% potato grew at a slower rate, ate less food but converted food as efficiently as birds receiving other diets.

Wetness of the litter and hardness of the pellets both increased as the proportion of potato in the diet increased, and these are suggested as the main factors limiting the proportion of potato used in the diet. It is proposed that these factors may be overcome by attention to the litter and by feeding diets containing potato in smaller sized particles.