Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Nov;104(11):105845.
doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105845. Epub 2025 Sep 13.

Effects of an enhanced feeding model on productivity and sustainability of broilers and hybrid chickens under Egyptian small-scale family systems

Reda E Hamouda  1 , Islam M Youssef  1 , Hassan B Gharib  2 , Mohamed A El-Menawey  2 , Mai A M Youssif  1 , Moustafa A Osman  3 , Yasser A Abdel-Aziz  1 , Hassan A Rudayni  4 , Ahmed A Allam  5 , Abdullah S Alawam  4 , Asmaa F Khafaga  6 , Mohamed E Abd El-Hack  7 , Amal A Abdel-Halim  2
Affiliations

Effects of an enhanced feeding model on productivity and sustainability of broilers and hybrid chickens under Egyptian small-scale family systems

Reda E Hamouda et al. Poult Sci. 2025 Nov.

Abstract

Small-scale family poultry systems, which are prevalent in Egyptian rural areas, serve as a critical source of income and nutrition for many households. These systems are characterized by low input that relies on local resources and traditional feeding practices. So, this study was conducted to assess the performance of broiler and hybrid chickens under small-scale systems in Egyptian rural areas, by utilizing alternative balanced feeds from reasonably priced and readily available feed sources in place of traditional feeds that are dependent on household food waste and certain grains. A total of 3200 one-day-old chicks were distributed among two studies. 1600 chicks Ross 308 in 1st study and 1600 chicks Gimmizah hybrid in 2nd study), and each study were divided into two groups of 800 each. Eight households (as eight replicates) made up the first group, which served as a control group and raised 100 chicks each using traditional feeding practices. The second group included eight households (eight replicates), all of which used the enhanced feeding model and raised 100 chicks at each household. The results showed that, in Ross 308, the final live body weight (LBW) was higher in the enhanced feeding model (2500.27 g) compared to 1700.92 g in traditional practice. The daily and total feed intake (FI) were lower in the enhanced feeding model (119.59 and 5381.76 g, respectively), compared to 213.56 and 9610.32 g in the traditional feeding practice. In the Gimmizah hybrid, the final LBW increased from 2178.12 g in traditional feeding practices to 2710.97 g in the enhanced feed model. The daily and total FI were lower in the enhanced feeding model (101.43 and 7100.14 g, respectively), compared to (166.55 and 11658.34 g, respectively) in the traditional feeding practice. In conclusion, the enhanced feeding model had a significant impact on the production performance, carcass parameters, and economic efficiency of Ross 308 and Gimmizah hybrid chickens under Egyptian rural family small-scale conditions.

Keywords: Broiler; Family; Feeding Model; Hybrid; Small-Scale.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

References

    1. Abd El-Aziz A.H., El-Kasrawy N..I., Youssef I.M., El-Kholy M.S., Moustafa M., Al-Shehri M., Khan M.M.H., Abd El-Hack M.E., Abo Ghanima M.M. Influence of graded levels of glucosamine sulfate on growth performance, hematological and biochemical health biomarkers, carcass traits, and economic efficiency in broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 2025;105 - PubMed
    1. Abdel-Aziz Y.A., El-Menawey M..A., Gharib H.B., Hamouda R.E. Proceedings of the 4th Scientific Conference of Animal Production Research Institute. 2013. Chicken performance in the context of family poultry production system in Al-Sharqia governorate, Egypt; pp. 433–441.
    1. Adeyonu A.G., Odozi J.C. What are the drivers of profitability of broiler farms in the north-central and south-west geo-political zones of Nigeria? Sage Open. 2022;12:1.
    1. Ali M.S., Hossain M.M. Factors influencing the performance of farmers in broiler production of Faridpur District in Bangladesh. World's. Poult. Sci. J. 2010;66:123–131.
    1. Arisha M., Attia A.I., Reda F.M., Youssef I.M., El dosokey A.R.F., Swelum A.A., Cheng Y., Abd El-Hack M.E. Consequences of dietary red pepper and radish oils’ supplementation on growth, carcass traits, blood indices, digestive enzymes activity and intestinal microbial load of broilers. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 2024;33