TENSILE-STRENGTH OF BROILER INTESTINES AS INFLUENCED BY AGE AND FEED WITHDRAWAL

Length of preslaughter feed withdrawal has been linked to contaminatio n problems in broiler processing plants. Also, excessive feed withdraw al times are often subjectively associated with increased intestinal f ragility during automated evisceration. In addition to intestinal brea kage, bile contamination also increases in flocks subjected to long fe ed withdrawal periods. In this study, tensile strength of the intestin es increased with age, with male broilers exhibiting greater hindgut s trength than females. On the other hand, tensile strength of the intes tines decreased and gall bladder size increased significantly as the l ength of feed withdrawal extended beyond 14 hr. Feed withdrawal progra ms must be designed to maintain the integrity of the digestive system in addition to targeting physical emptying.