Abstract of research

EFFECT OF FORCED-FEEDING ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND LIVER QUALITY OF EGYPTIAN GEESE

Karousa, M.M., Mahmoud E.A., Eliethy, S.M. and Sabek, A.A.

Abstract

Twenty goslings one day old were purchased from the local market and transported in clean, well-ventilated boxes to the poultry house. During the first three weeks, goslings were brooded together and when they reached 3 months old, they were divided randomly into two groups. Geese of the first group were forced fed for 3 weeks with corn while geese of the second group fed adlibtum (control group). At the end of the experiment, geese were slaughtered and the livers were weighted. The obtained results showed that the body weight of forced fed group was highly significantly (P<0.001) heavier than that of the control group especially at the second and third weeks of the experiment (2760.00±74.07vs 2393.00±74.07gm). In addition, the liver weight of forced fed group was highly significantly (P<0.001) heavier than the liver weight of control (214.00±15.32vs102.00±15.32gm) and characterized by steatosis, fatty degeneration and necrosis in histopathological examination.