Studies on some Welfare Aspects of Broilers Reared Under Different Stocking Densities

Abstract

Nowadays, there is much concern expressed about stocking density as it is related to the well-being and welfare of broilers, and to define some welfare aspects of broilers in an environmentally uncontrolled conventional house under two different densities, this experiment was conducted using a total number of 120 one day old Cobb broiler chicks that were randomly divided into two groups with three replicates of each in 6 floor pens (1m × 1.6 m). The first group (control) were housed at a density of 1000 cm2/ bird (16 birds/replicate/pen) while the second group (high density HD) were housed at a density of 666.66 cm2/ bird (24 birds/ replicate/pen). Results showed that litter quality was deteriorated (P˂0.05) at HD group especially at the 4th, 5th and 6th week of the growing cycle where the all quality parameter together were the worst. Additionally the incidence of the breast irritation and ammonia burns were greater at higher density group, moreover the severity was increased with limiting floor space due to worsening of the litter condition which adversely (P˂0.05) affect both leg strength as indicated by latency to lie test (LTL) and feather condition as indicated by plumage cleanliness score.

Keywords

• broiler
• welfare
• stocking density
• leg health