MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental Design and Birds
One hundred forty 1-d-old (Cobb × Cobb) male broiler chickswere purchased froma commercial hatchery (Hoover’s Hatchery Inc., Rudd, IA), weighed, wing banded,and assigned to pens in stainless steel chick batteries based on initial bodyweights. Chicksweremaintained on a 24-h continuous light schedule and allowed ad libitum access to feed and water during the 21-d study. The animal care and use protocol was reviewed and approved by the University of Missouri–Columbia Animal Care and Use Committee. A completely randomized design was used with 4 pen replicates of 5 chicks assigned to each of 7 dietary treatments. Mortality was recorded as
it occurred, and birdswere inspected daily for any health related problems.