Influence of feeding sorghum on the growth, gizzard development and carcass traits of growing geese.

The aim of this trial was to study the influence of feed form on the performance, gizzard development and carcass traits of growing geese. Between 42 and 98 days of age, 360 geese (type Maxipalm(®)) were fed a diet containing 500 g sorghum/kg (nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy 12.6 MJ/kg, 15.1 g/kg CP). Birds were divided into three groups differing in feed form: complete pellets (Control group, n = 120); a coarse-ground meal (CG group, n = 120); or a mixture containing protein-rich pellets and sorghum whole grains (M group, n = 120). Feed intake per pen (40 birds/pen) was measured weekly between 42 and 98 days of age, and individual live weight (LW) was measured every 2 weeks. At 84 and 98 days of age, 12 birds were slaughtered in each group to measure the gizzard development and body traits. Irrespective of the goose sex, LW at 98 days was lower for the CG group than for the Control group (5555 v. 5888 g, P < 0.05 for males and 5039 v. 5215 g, P < 0.05 for females). The feed intake over the entire period was 5.5% higher in the M group (P < 0.05) than in the Control and CG groups but the feed conversion ratio (6.91, P > 0.05) was similar in the three groups. The gizzard development (as % of LW) was higher in birds of the CG group than those of the Control and M groups at 84 days of age (+13.98% and +13.51%, respectively; P < 0.05) but was similar in all three groups at 98 days of age (4.01%, P > 0.05). The relative liver development was lower in the birds of the CG group than those of the other two groups at 84 and 98 days of age (-20%, P < 0.001 and -10%, P < 0.05, respectively). The other body traits were similar in the three groups at both 84 and 98 days of age. The present results suggest that a simplified diet presented in the form of a mixture of sorghum whole grains and protein-rich pellets did not reduce the performance of growing geese.