Plasma uric acid of broiler breeder and Leghorn male chickens: effect of feeding time.

Three trials were conducted to determine the effect of feeding time (meal-feeding) on plasma uric acid (PUA) levels of roosters. When sampling was done at various times postfeeding in two trials, PUA levels of broiler breeder males were highest at 2 h and lowest at 24 to 25 h postfeeding. In the third trial, meal-fed Leghorn males had the highest PUA levels at 2 h and lowest at 23.5 h postfeeding. Ad libitum-fed Leghorn males had a slow increase in PUA until 1100 h following lighting at 0500 h. The results suggest that feeding time in meal-fed birds and time of lighting in ad libitum-fed birds must be considered when determining PUA levels.