Modeling energy utilization and growth parameter description for broilers chickens. Poult. Sci

ABSTRACT Two experiments were conducted to de-velop and evaluate a model to estimate ME requirements and determine Gompertz growth parameters for broilers. The first experiment was conducted to determine mainte-nance energy requirements and the efficiencies of energy utilization for fat and protein deposition. Maintenance ME (MEm) requirements were estimated to be 157.8, 112.1, and 127.2 kcal of ME/kg0.75 per day for broilers at 13, 23, and 32°C, respectively. Environmental temperature (T) had a quadratic effect on maintenance requirements (MEm = 307.87- 15.63T + 0.3105T2; r2 = 0.93). Energy re-quirements for fat and protein deposition were estimated to be 13.52 and 12.59 kcal of ME/g, respectively. Based on these coefficients, a model was developed to calculat