NUTRITION OF CHICKS
ological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 1
Student Learning Objectives. Instruction in this lesson should result in
students achieving the following objectives:
1 Discuss the nutrient needs of poultry for maintenance, growth, and
reproduction.
2 Identify chief sources of energy for poultry and symptoms of energy deficient
diets.
3 Explain the role of amino acids as essential nutrients for growth and
development and describe symptoms of amino acid deficiencies.
4 Define macrominerals and trace minerals and list examples of each.
5 Explain the function and importance of vitamins in the diet and identify
symptoms of vitamin deficiencies in chicks.
Anticipated Problem: What are the nutrient needs of poultry for maintenance, growth,
and reproduction?
I. Nutrients are substances used by an animal for growth and development of its cells,
organs, and tissues. Nutrient maintenance requirements in poultry are defined as the total
nutrients needed for body functioning without any gain or loss in body weight and
productive activity.
Illinois Biological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 3
A. The minimum requirement level is called the basal maintenance requirement. Basal
requirements are needed to:
1. maintain body temperature
2. keep body processes functional
3. allow for minimal movement
4. repair damaged cells or tissue
B. Maintenance requirements are influenced by:
1. exercise
2. weather
3. stress
4. health
5. body size
6. temperament
7. level of production
8. individual variation
C. Nutritive needs for growth are influenced by:
1. age
2. breed
3. sex
4. disease
—nutritive needs increase with breeding stock.
D. Adequate vitamins and minerals are important for growth. Growth can be defined as
an increase in size of bones, muscles, internal organs, or other parts of the body. In
poultry, vitamins and minerals are needed for hatchability and embryo development.
Anticipated Problem: What are the chief sources of energy for poultry and symptoms of
energy deficient diets?
II. Energy for poultry is derived in feedstuffs in the form of carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins.
A. Carbohydrates supply the majority of energy for growth and development because of
their abundance and cheaper cost. Catabolism is the oxidation of nutrients which
releases energy for fulfilling the body’s immediate demands.
B. A protein supplement, usually soybean meal, is commonly mixed with poultry feed to
provide a balanced ration.
C. Corn is the primary feed for poultry and serves as the main energy source.
D. A deficiency in the diet may have the following symptoms:
1. slow or stunted growth
2. loss of body tissue
3. lowered production of meat or eggs
4. decreased motility
Anticipated Problem: What is the role of amino acids as essential nutrients for growth
and development and what are symptoms of amino acid deficiencies?
III. Proteins are organic compounds made up of amino acids.
A. Amino acids contain carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and
iron.
B. Proteins supply the substance that is needed to build and maintain body tissues.
C. Twenty-three amino acids have been found in protein. Ten of the amino acids are
essential, the others are synthesized in the animal’s body from these ten in a process
called anabolism.
D. Without the proper amino acids, deficiency can result. Symptoms of amino acid
deficiency are:
1. low birth weight of young
2. anorexia (low food intake)
3. slow growth rate
4. low milk production
5. edema (abnormal fluid accumulation)
6. anemia (low red blood cell count)
Anticipated Problem: What are macrominerals and trace minerals and what specific
minerals fit each definition?
IV. Macrominerals are minerals that are needed in larger amounts for proper health,
growth, and reproduction. Trace minerals are needed in smaller amounts for proper
animal health.
A. Examples of macrominerals needed for poultry are:
1. Calcium
2. Chlorine
3. Magnesium
4. Phosphorus
5. Potassium
6. Sodium
B. Examples of trace minerals needed for poultry are:
1. Copper
2. Iodine
3. Iron
4. Manganese
5. Selenium
6. Zinc
Anticipated Problem: What is the function and importance of vitamins in the diet and
what are vitamin deficiency symptoms in chicks?
V. Vitamins are organic compounds required in minute amounts for normal growth,
production, reproduction, and health.
A. Vitamins regulate body processes, help the body resist disease, and improve health in
general.
B. Vitamins are either fat soluble (stored in body fat and released when needed), or water
soluble (dissolved by water and need to be replaced each day).
C. Essential vitamins include A, D3, E, K, Biotin, Choline, Folacin, Niacin, Pantothenic
Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamin, B-6, and B-12.
D. Symptoms of vitamin deficiency include:
1. Slow or poor growth
2. Poor reproduction
3. decreased production of meat or eggs
4. anorexia
5. edema
6. skin, feather problems
7. decreased appetite and diarrhea
Illinois Biological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 9
Test
NUTRITION OF CHICKS
Part One: Matching
Instructions: Match the term with the correct response.
a. anabolism
b. fat soluble
c. macromineral
d. growth
e. catabolism
f. protein
g. water soluble
h. basal maintenance requirement
_______1. Vitamins that will need to be replaced each day.
_______2. Nutrient molecules synthesized into complex molecules.
_______3. Minerals needed in larger amounts.
_______4. Made up of amino acids.
_______5. The minimum nutrient requirement needed for an animal.
_______6. A breakdown of nutrients that releases energy.
_______7. Nutrients stored in fat tissue in the body.
_______8. Increase in the size of bones, muscles, and internal organs.
Part Two: Completion
Instructions: Provide the word or words to complete the following statements.
1. Organic compounds made up of amino acids are ________________.
2. Copper, iodine, and iron are all known as ___________ minerals.
3. The absence of nutrition, or not receiving enough nutrition is called a ___________.
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Part Three: Multiple Choice
Instructions: Circle the letter of the correct answer.
_______1. The majority of energy for growth and development of poultry is provided by:
a. protein
b. carbohydrates
c. minerals
d. vitamins
_______2. Folacin, Riboflavin, and Niacin are all examples of:
a. minerals
b. vitamins
c. amino acids
d. diseases of poultry
_______3. Which factors influence the nutritional needs of animals?
a. age
b. disease
c. stage of growth
d. all of the above
_______4. Which of the following is not a mineral required by poultry?
a. calcium
b. phosphorus
c. niacin
d. potassium
_______5. What is the primary ingredient in poultry feed?
a. sunflower seed
b. oyster shells
c. corn
d. soybean meal
_______6. What is the protein supplement commonly mixed in poultry feed to provide a balanced
ration?
a. soybean meal
b. corn
c. silage
d. milo
Part Four: Short Answer
Instructions: Provide information to answer the following statements.
1. List four general symptoms of an amino acid deficiency.
2. Describe how the Pearson Square is useful in determining correct feed rations.
Illinois Biological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 11
Assessment
Illinois Biological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 28
TS–A
Technical Supplement
NUTRITION OF CHICKS
1. How do nutrition needs vary for body functions of maintenance, growth,
and reproduction?
Maintenance requirements are defined as the combination of nutrients which are
needed by the bird to keep its body functioning without any gain or loss in body
weight or any productive activity. A mature bird must have: a) heat to maintain body
temperature, b) sufficient energy to keep vital body processes functional, c) energy
for minimal movement, and d) necessary nutrient to repair damaged cells and tissues
and to replace those which have become nonfunctional. Even though maintenance
requirements might be considered as an expression of the non-production
needs of a bird, there are many factors which affect the amount of nutrients necessary
for this vital function; among them, a) exercise, b) weather, c) stress, d) health,
e) body size, f) temperature, and g) individual variation.
Growth may be defined as the increase in the size of bones, muscles, internal organs,
and other parts of the body. Growth is the very foundation of animal production.
Nutritional needs for growth vary with age, breed, sex, rate of growth, and disease.
Reproduction is the development and hatching of a fertile egg. For high hatchability
and good development of embryos, breeder fowl require greater amounts of vitamins
A, D, E, B-12, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, and the mineral manganese.
2. What are the chief sources of energy for poultry growth and development?
The energy requirement may be defined as the amount of available energy that will
provide for growth or egg production at a high enough level to permit maximum
economic return for the production unit. Most of the energy in poultry diets is supIllinois Biological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 29
plied by grains, grain by-products, and animal and vegetable fats and oils. Poultry
have only a limited ability to use high fiber feeds such as roughages because of their
relative inability to digest the fiber. Grains make up from 50–80% of the total rations
for chickens. Corn is the most commonly used grain for energy. Protein supplements
are used to add protein. When poultry are fed all they will eat, they tend to eat
enough to meet their energy requirements. Chickens fed low energy diets will eat
more feed than those fed high energy diets. The amount of required nutrients in a
poultry ration must be adjusted in relation to the energy level in the ration. High
energy rations usually result in higher efficiency in converting feed to meat or eggs
as compared to low energy rations.
Carbohydrates, which constitute about 75% of the dry weight of plants and grain,
make up a large part of poultry rations. They serve as a source of heat and energy in
the bird’s body. A surplus taken into the body may be transformed into fat and
stored as a reserve supply of heat and energy.
3. How do anabolism and catabolism differ?
Nutrients are utilized in one of two metabolic processes: anabolism or catabolism.
Anabolism is the process by which nutrient molecules are used as building blocks
for the synthesis of complex molecules, in other words, the formation and repair of
body tissues. Catabolism is the oxidation of nutrients liberating energy which is
used to fulfill the body’s immediate demands, in other words, the breakdown of
body tissues into simpler substances and waste products.
4. What is the general function of minerals in the diet?
Animal bodies contain small amounts, only two to five percent, of inorganic elements,
called minerals. But these constituents play an important role in animal
nutrition. The general functions of minerals are to: a) give rigidity and strength to
the skeletal structure, b) serve as constituents of the organic compounds, such as
protein and lipids which make up the muscles, organs, blood cells, and other soft tissues
of the body, c) activate enzyme systems, d) control fluid balance—osmotic
pressure and excretion, e) regulate acid-base balance, and f) exert characteristic
effects on the irritability of muscles and nerves.
5. What is the general function of vitamins in the diet?
Vitamins are the substances that are required in minute amounts by animals for normal
growth, production, reproduction, and/or health. The omission of a single vitamin
from the diet of a species that requires it will produce specific deficiency symptoms.
Many of the vitamins function as coenzymes (metabolic catalysts); others
have no such role, but perform in essential functions.
Illinois Biological Science Applications in Agriculture Lesson C2–3 • Page 30