Flavored chicken feed might provide a way to improve management of broilers and layers, says B.L. Damron, of the Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, University of Florida.

Data demonstrating statistically significant benefits from flavoring chicken feed is lacking, but fairly consistent numerical improvement has been shown, which is why Damron says the notion of flavoring feed shouldn’t be discarded.

Contrary to the notion that they lack a sense of taste, research shows that birds have well-defined taste mechanisms. When flavored drinking water is offered to birds, they detect compounds consistently and prefer unflavored water, Damron says, in an article from the Feed Industry Network’s Feed Formulator.

Additional research with offensive flavors shows the ability to chemically regulate feed or fluid intake in birds, opening a number of possibilities for commercial poultry production.

Flavoring, for instance, might help improve palatability and performance. It might also prevent early “starve-outs” and keep birds on feed during times of disease or stress. Flavoring may also limit decreased feed consumption caused by ingredients such as blood meal, fish solubles and fermentation byproducts or dusty ground grains like wheat and milo, he says.

“An important possibility under hot weather conditions is the potential improvement of feed intake by hens and broilers...” Damron adds.

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