Effects of housing system on growth performance, animal welfare and carcass characteristics of broiler

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different floor housing systems on growth performance, animal welfare and carcass characteristics of broilers. In the study, fast growing (Ross 308) broilers with conventional deep litter, slatted floor (100% slatted floor), and litter and slat (50% litter floor and 50% slatted floor) were used, so there were three main groups and each main group was consisted of 5 replicates. Each replicate consisted of 14 male chicks, so 210 birds were used in total. Beside the flooring system, management conditions were identical. The experiment lasted for six weeks, and each week live weight gain, feed consumption, and dead birds were recorded. Ante-mortem and post-mortem welfare parameters were visually inspected at the end of the experiment. Carcass characteristics were measured after post-mortem inspection. Variable costs of each group and its percentages within total costs were calculated, gross profit and profitability were calculated in order for economic analysis. Results showed that broiler growth performance was positively affected by the fully or partially slatted flooring compared to the conventional deep litter system. All ante-mortem welfare indicators of broiler were found to be better in fully or partially-slatted flooring than those of conventional deep litter. With regard to post-mortem lesion score on breast and pygostyle, birds showed differences for all floor types (P=0.003, P<0.05). Compared to the conventional deep litter system, the gross profit and profitability ratios per broiler were calculated higher on both slatted floors. In conclusion, using partially or fully-slatted flooring in fattening fast growing broiler led to a higher body weight while reducing incidence of any deformations on foot pad and hock joint in live animals. Further research is needed to monitör the effects of fully or partially slat flooring on breast and feet deformations, especially in prolonged slaughter age and heavier slaughter weight in commercial conditions.