Broiler chickens are usually fed on an ad lib basis to allow them to get their energy needs and to achieve their target weights in shorter periods of time. In recent years, however, timed feeding of broilers has been recommended for economical reasons. Here, the birds are fed a set amount of feed 4-6 times a day so they finish their meal and are then held without feed for about one hour or less. This has two beneficial aspects. First, it reduces the chance for the mechanical stimulation of feed intake that is often experienced when running the feeders throughout the day. Second, during these times without feed birds are usually quiet, and this may improve feed utilisation due to the reduced maintenance feed requirements.