Effect of Short Fasts on the Development of Tibial Dyschondroplasia in Chickens

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Abstract
The length of time each day that feed is available to young broller-type chickens significantly influenced the development of tibial dyschondroplasia. Birds that were fasted for 8 or 10 h per day had reduced incidences of tibial dyschondroplasia as compared to birds fed ad libitum (5–11% vs. 59–68%). When birds were fasted for only 2 or 4 h each day there was no significant effect on the development of tibial dyschondroplasia. Birds fasted for 8 h every other day or every 4th d had lower incidences of tibial dyschondroplasia compared to ad libitum fed controls. Fasting for 8 h on the 4th d or the 4th and 8th d of a 20-d experiment had no effect on the incidence of tibial dyschondroplasia as compared to controls. Except for the daily fasting there was little effect of fasting on 20-d body weight or gain per feed intake. Fasting increased the percent bone ash in the tibia in all experiments. Fasting had no effect on total calcium, ultrafilterable calcium, dialyzable phosphorus or growth hormone levels in plasma taken from the birds the 18th and 19th day. The hour of the day that the birds were bled had a significant influence on the plasma total calcium, dialyzable phosphorus and growth hormone levels.