This study assessed the relationships between energy density of diets formulated with productive energy (PE) and broiler performance, body composition, processing yield, and economics. 45 floor pens were allocated to each of 5 independent feeding phases (fresh birds each). In each phase, 3 treatments were assessed, each with 6 replicates: Diets formulated with apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn, T1) or with 83% (T2) or 92% (T3) of PE recommended values. BW, BW gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality (MO) were determined. BWG was fitted to Gompertz 3P curve 1st derivative, and cumulative BW (cBW) and BWG (cBWG) were calculated. Cumulative FI (cFI) was obtained based on FCR and cBWG, and cumulative European Broiler Index (EBI) was calculated. Body composition and processing weights (carcass, CAR; breast fillet, BRE; tenderloins, TEN; wings, WIN; leg quarters, LQU) were determined with Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry across the study. Nine additional pens were fed the treatment diets continuously from 1 to 56 days, and 50 birds from each treatment were processed at the end of the study to determine CAR, LQU, WIN, and breast meat + wing (BPW) yields, along with meat quality (white stripping, WS; woody breast, WB). Feeding costs were expressed per bird (FCB), per kg BW (FCW), and per kg carcass (FCC). Market value (MKV, $/bird) was determined based on the weight of each processing part and its market price, gross profit (GPR, $/bird) as MKV – FCB, and ROI as GPR/FCB. All data were adjusted to processing weights, and response at 100% PE requirement (pseudo-T4) was estimated by regressing response against PE density (T2, T3). Monte Carlo and bootstrapping in JMP were used to obtain T4 data. ANOVA and Student’s t-test, correlation among PE density and responses, and linear and quadratic regressions for response based on PE density were run. Increasing PE density produced linear positive effects on cFCR, EBI, CAR, LQU, WIN, FCC, and MKV (P<0.05) and quadratic effect on feed ROI (P<0.05). 92% PE (T3) showed lower feeding costs and higher gross profit and ROI than AMEn birds (P<0.05). Estimated response at 100% PE indicated better cBW, cBWG, cFCR, EBI, CAR, LQU, FCC, MKV (P<0.001), GPR (P=0.002), and ROI (P<0.001) than T1. A 1 million broiler complex fed with 92% PE diets would produce weekly a net balance of additional 101,000 kg carcass, $71K in total feeding cost savings, extra $207K in total cut-up parts market value, and additional $258K in gross profit. Improved BW, FCR, and EBI were determined at densities between 92% PE and 100% PE compared to AMEn. In conclusion, PE shows potential to improve production efficiency and economics of broiler production compared to AMEn.

Martinez, D., C. Umberson, E. Sheikhsamani, S. Johnson and C. Coon. 2025. Energy Density of Diets Formulated with Productive Energy: Linear and Quadratic Effects on Improved Broiler Performance, Processing Yield, and Economics. 2025 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, Abstract 375