Location: Poultry Research
2022 Annual Report
Objectives
1. Identify optimum stocking densities and spatial allocation of feed and water resources for antibiotic free production of commercial broiler chickens.
1.1. Determine optimum stocking density for three classes of market weight broilers representing food service (2 kg), retail (3 kg), and further processing (4 kg).
1.2. Evaluate interaction of feeder and drinker space to define feed and water access requirements for heavy broiler chickens.
2. Assess energy and input resource requirements for environmental control
strategies for modern broiler housing.
2.1. Evaluate interactions of fan placement and inlet design on energy and water use requirements.
2.2. Evaluate effect of light control techniques to provide enhanced photoperiod and intensity control on production efficiency in heavy broilers.
3. Using precision livestock technologies, determine the environmental factors within broiler housing environments that contribute to muscle myopathies of poultry breast meat and develop strategies to mitigate them.
Approach
Birds and feed will be weighed at each feeding phase change; body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) will be calculated. On the final day of the trial, 10 male and 10 female birds per pen will be randomly selected for processing to obtain yield data. The sampled birds will be tagged, group weighed per pen and feed will be removed 12 h before birds will be transported to the Mississippi State University Poultry Processing plant. The birds will be electrically stunned, bled, scalded, and mechanically processed.
Measurements will include carcass weight, dressing percentage, fat pad percentage, and pectoralis major and pectoralis minor breast meat yield. Foot pad examination will be performed on all processed birds per Olanrewaju et al. (2011). In addition, each carcass will be evaluated for skin defects (skin scratches, tears, and blisters).
Progress Report
This is the final report. This project has been replaced by 6064-13000-010-000D, “Improving Sustainability and Resiliency in Commercial Broiler Production”.
The facility housing stocking density research was repaired in late Spring 2022 after significant supply-chain related delays. 3kg stocking density experiments for Objective 1 were recently completed and production and physiological data are currently under analysis. Ventilation experiments are complete and data is currently under analysis; these experiments were expanded to include other measurements of productivity such as fertility in breeder hens resulting from increased ventilation during the meal-feeding period at the request of a major stakeholder. Lighting research for this project has been concluded and production and yield data have been analyzed; physiological and welfare data are currently under analysis.
Accomplishments
1. Ventilation for breeder hens. Increasing ventilation during feeding to offset heat increment of feed shows promise in increasing breeder hen productivity. Increase egg production per hen can reduce costs for hatching egg production.
2. Stocking density in antibiotic free broiler production. Stocking densities up to 42 kg/m2 with appropriate environmental management is suitable and does not compromising the welfare and productivity of broilers grown to 3 kg body weights, and allows for improved economics in antibiotic free broiler production.
3. Natural lighting for broilers. Broilers reared under natural artificial lighting had lower body weights when compared to birds reared under artificial lighting, but no changes in mortalities or welfare responses were observed. Use of natural lighting is primarily market-driven with no clear production or welfare benefits.
4. Utility service quality in broiler houses. Efficient and reliable delivery of water and fuel utilities is critical to ensure animal health, welfare, productivity, and profitability for broiler growers. Farm infrastructure quality was measured to ascertain leakage and usage accuracy measurements for gas and water, respectively. Gas systems in aged houses were prone to leakage (8.4 leaks/house) and water meters suffered from poor accuracy and cannot be relied upon to provide usable estimates of water use.
5. Broiler lighting uniformity. A field survey was conducted on five commercial broiler farms in South Alabama to evaluate the uniformity of light intensity across three locations during brooding and tunnel ventilation modes. Intensity at the fans was significantly increased when compared to the remaining areas of the house; variability was also increased during tunnel ventilation. Providing uniform light in the house is important so that all birds receive similar lighting levels and has an economic effect in on farm production and bird uniformity entering the plant.
6. Incubation temperature effects on broiler production. Temperature changes during early-stages of incubation have shown to have contradicting effects on post-hatch performance and meat quality. Effects of three incubation temperatures (37.5, 36.4, and 38.6) were tested. Altering incubation temperature during early-stage incubation did not impact wooden breast or white striping incidence or severity. Overall, these results underscore the importance of careful incubation temperature management during early-stage incubation to optimize broiler growth performance and carcass yields.
Review Publications
Olanrewaju, H.A., Purswell, J.L., Collier, S.D., Branton, S.L. 2022. Age-related effects of feeder space availability on welfare of broilers reared to 56 days of age1 Part 2: Blood physiological variables. Poultry Science. 101:101698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2022.101698.
Olanrewaju, H.A., Purswell, J.L., Collier, S.D., Branton, S.L. 2022. Age-related effects of feeder space availability on welfare of broilers reared to 56 days of age1 Part 1: Biochemical, enzymatical, and electrolytes variables. Journal of Applied Animal Research. 31:3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japr.2022.100281.
