Efeitos da Adição de Gesso Agrícola à Cama Aviária sobre o Desempenho de Frangos de Corte

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of agricultural gypsum addition to broiler litter on broiler performance. Four levels of gypsum: G1, G2, G3 and G4 (respectively, 10, 20, 30 and 40% in relation to a control group that used 50 kg of wood scraps) were tested. The gypsum was added at different periods: T1 (when the broiler presented nine days of age) and T2 (the total amount of gypsum was divided in half and applied, respectively, at the 9 and 23 days of the broiler ages). A completely randomized design was used, with nine treatments, in a 4 x 2 factorial arrangement (level of gypsum x broiler ages) + control group. Feed intake, weight gain, feed:gain ratio and mortality were evaluated in three periods: from 9 to 21, from 21 to 49, and from 9 to 49 days of the broiler ages. The agricultural gypsum did not affect the broilers performance, except in the feed intake, in the first evaluated period (from 9 to 21 days).