Effects of ambient temperature on growth performance, blood parameter, and fat deposition of geese from 14 to 28 days of age

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of ambient temperature on the growth performance, blood parameter, and fat deposition in geese from 14 to 28 d of age in order to establish their optimal temperature requirements. A total of 150 14-day-old geese were allocated randomly to 5 environmentally controlled chambers with ambient temperature set at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C from 14 to 28 d of age, respectively. As ambient temperature increased from 18 to 30°C, the feed intake decreased linearly (P < 0.05) and was accompanied by linearly or quadratically (P < 0.05) decreasing 28-day-old body weight, weight gain, and feed/gain. The upper critical level of ambient temperature from 14 to 28 d of age for 28-day-old body weight and weight gain were 25.83 and 26.17°C, respectively. There were no differences in plasma biochemical parameters or plasma hormones between geese fed at ambient temperature regimen at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C. The abdominal fat weight and abdominal fat rate decreased linearly (P ≤ 0.05) with higher ambient temperature, but the ambient temperature had no effect on subcutaneous fat thickness or intermuscular fat width. It was concluded that the upper critical temperature of the ambient temperature for geese from 14 to 28 d of age was 26.17°C and high ambient temperature could lead to growth depression.