Feeding regimen by sire family interactions on growth, immunocompetence, and disease resistance in chickens.

Progeny from matings of 12 sires from a White Plymouth Rock line selected for high juvenile BW and 96 dams from a White Leghorn line selected for low antibody production to SRBC were reared under alternate-day (AD) or ad libitum (AL) feeding regimens. Within a feeding regimen males were heavier than females, and within a sex, chicks fed AL were heavier than those fed AD. Feeding regimen by sire family interactions were significant for BW at 21 d of age for both male and female progeny. The interaction was due to differences among sires in the magnitude of the AD: AL relationship. Product moment correlation coefficients between feeding regimens for male and female progeny of sire families for 21-d BW were essentially zero, which was consistent with the sire family by feeding regimen interactions observed at this age. At 41 d of age, relative to BW, weights of empty esophagus plus crop and of crop contents were greater for AD than AL chicks. There were differences among sire families for crop content and breast weights relative to BW. Lesion scores to Escherichia coli challenge were lower and antibody titers to SRBC antigen were higher in AD than in AL chicks. Sire families differed in antibody titers to SRBC antigen. Feeding regimen by sire family interactions were significant for percentage change in BW 144 h after E. coli challenge and lesion scores were greater for AL than AD chicks.