The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the physical form and quantity of pre-starter diet on the broiler chicks performance. In the first trial, 684 day old males were distributed in a randomized design of three treatments with six replicates of 38 birds. The physical forms of pre-starter diets tested were: mash diet; crumb diet and pellet diet. Another was conducted with 912 day old male distributed in a randomized design of three treatments with eight replicates of 38 birds. The treatments consisted in feeding the broiler chickens with 150 g/bird; 200 g/bird and 250 g/bird. After that, all the birds were fed with the same feed program. In the first week and at 21 days old the birds fed with mash pre-starter diet had body weight gain lower than those fed crumbed and pelleted diets. The variables studied were not affected by the quantity of diets. In conclusion, the physical form of pre-starter diet was important for initial performance and the quantity of pre-starter up to 150 g/bird did not improve the development of broiler chicks.
