In-ovo feeding can programme performance

The next major advance in poultry nutrition will come from feeding chicks in-ovo, and ‘imprinting’ behaviour through tailored diets in the first days of life. Making the most of broilers’ genetic potential will mean rethinking the role of the hatchery, according to a leading poultry nutritionist. Peter Ferket, a professor at North Carolina State University, says that in-ovo feeding, as well as offering birds feed as soon as they hatch will become necessary if farmers wish to keep progress