The poultry industry is under pressure to produce safe and good quality meat in the welfare conditions. Many areas such as genetics, biosecurity, and immunoprophylaxis were improved, and hatchery is one of the areas in which welfare could be improved for better production output. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of early post-hatch nutrition providing body weight and muscle development in broiler chickens. The experiment involving two groups (chicken hatched with access to water and feed in the hatcher, and chicken without feed and water in hatcher) was replicated three times, and the body weights and breast-muscle index of the randomly chosen 30 chickens per group in each term were measured on the 1st, 7th, 21st, and 35th day of life. The breast-muscle sample was taken for genetic examination (the expression of the myoD, myoG, and MRF4 genes) and histological examination. The results showed that the positive effect of early nutrition was observed on the seventh day of bird life with higher expression of myoG and MRF4 and higher body weight of the birds. The positive effect of early nutrition on the diameter of the breast-muscle fibers was visible on days 21 and 35 of chicken life. The average final body weight in groups with early access to food and water was 5% higher than in groups hatched under classic conditions. Conclusions: early feeding in the hatcher improves performance and muscle growth in broiler chickens.
Keywords: broiler chicken; early feeding; growth performance; muscle growth.