Doing a Little Science on Food Particle Preferences

[centrarchid]

Working out this mess for my trials that will differ more than I thought from student's. I will also need another darn bird.

Birds are being given access to feed, as in more than they can eat at once. They are allowed to eat until they start clattering bill on feed particles and dropping them plus walking away from feeder. Then I place a second feeder next to first loaded in excess with a weighed amount of another food option (more feed, shelled-corn, BOSS, or live mealworms). With the later three options feeding resumes for almost as long as the first feeding bout. If same feed as before, then bird walks away and does not eat additional feed in the time allowed for feeding to resume (1 minute).

 

[centrarchid]

Preliminary Trial Results (no replication, just working out procedure)


Bird Cup (g) Cup+FeedB (g) Container+FeedA Feed Consumed (g)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Bobfeed 32.8 232.5 168.6 63.9
Bobcorn 33.0 214.3 197.9 16.4
TOTAL 80.3

Tomfeed 33.0 224.1 156.4 67.7
TomBOSS 32.7 126.7 119.3 7.4
TOTAL 75 .1

Cosfeed 33.0 232.2 98.7 133.5
Cosworm 33.0 109.2 68.4 40.8
TOTAL 174.3

None consumed additional pellets after first stopping. All consumed more feed than the alternative food type. Cos consumed the most. All voluntarily stopped feeding.

Later we will need to correct for volume consumed as that maybe more relevant to crop fill.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

You're just doing a simple preference trial, we do it all the time in swine. There is not need to hold the birds. Simply provide the two types of feed in two separate feeders in their pen. Measure the differences in disappearance between the two feeders and you have a measurement of preference.

 

[AntiqueB]

 

[centrarchid]

You're just doing a simple preference trial, we do it all the time in swine. There is not need to hold the birds. Simply provide the two types of feed in two separate feeders in their pen. Measure the differences in disappearance between the two feeders and you have a measurement of preference.

No, angling towards something else not practical with production animals.

 

[glib]

First round of trials complete. Data not yet analysed, but hungry roosters do show signs for a preference when they are very hungry. Next round (round 2) will have rooster fed same amount (a restricted ration) but before they given the choices. This means they will have some degree of satiation based on crop fill, although they will likely have ability to consume more additional food when compared to those with free-choice access (round 3). Student is on Christmas break and has to work more at vet office so I will do rounds 2 and 3 myself. Care will be taken by me not to kiss roosters on the lips.

Yes, french kissing would be even worse. I am certain, certain I not giving you any ideas.

 

[centrarchid]

Student part of this project is to get a handle on food particle preference, not so much feed preference. With exception of the pelleted feed, nothing is a proper balanced feed.

My part is exploring carbohydrate loading through promotion of additional intake beyond meeting requirements for essential nutrients, ideally using a feedstuff that cost significantly less than complete forming base diet for the birds. Most swine operations I know of provide free-choice access to only one complete feed at a time.