Determination of the standardized ileal digestible calcium requirement of Ross broilers from hatch to day 14 post-hatch

An experiment was conducted to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) calcium requirement of fast-growing broilers from hatch to d 14 post-hatch. Ross 308 (n = 360) male broilers were obtained on day of hatch and allocated to 1 of 5 treatments in battery cages. There were 6 birds per cage and 12 pens per treatment. Four treatments were formulated to contain 0.60%, 0.46%, 0.32% or 0.18% SID Ca. The final treatment was formulated using total Ca to meet or exceed all nutrient requirements, including 0.90% total Ca and 0.49% non-phytate P (nPP), using the same ingredients. This treatment was the reference diet for comparison and validation of the SID Ca diets. Birds and feed were weighed at placement and on d 14. Tibias and ileal contents were obtained on d 14 and excreta was collected per pen and pooled on d 14. Data were analyzed using JMP Pro and requirements were estimated using 3 different non-linear regression models. Increasing the SID Ca content in the diet from 0.18% to 0.60% improved (quadratic, P < 0.05) body weight gain and mortality corrected feed conversion ratio (mFCR). The estimated SID Ca requirement to optimize gain or mFCR was between 0.39% and 0.52%. Tibia ash percent and weight increased (quadratic, P < 0.05) as SID Ca content in the diet increased and the estimated SID Ca requirement was between 0.32% and 0.58%. Phosphorus utilization was improved in birds fed diets formulated using SID Ca compared with birds fed the reference diet. In conclusion, the SID Ca requirement of fast-growing broilers from hatch to d 14 was estimated between 0.534% and 0.398% when quadratic, straight-broken line, or quadratic-broken line regressions were used. These results agree with previously published data evaluating the SID Ca requirement of fast-growth broilers from hatch to d 10.