Rearing environment and locomotion problems in broiler production

• Grant number: 13/13444-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2013
• End date: September 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Rural Buildings and Ambience
• Principal Investigator: Irenilza de Alencar Naas
• Grantee: Irenilza de Alencar Naas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola (FEAGRI). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Marta dos Santos Baracho

Abstract

The production of broilers has as main feature the quick cycle, in which the slaughter occurs on average at age forty-five days of life. However, for the broiler will achieve the estimated weight at this age their genetic and housing conditions are critical. Moreover, to achieve the requirement for weight development was not altered anatomic, thus causing problems locomotor. One of the factors that favor this disease is the bed used. The objective of this work is to identify the correlation between the ambience of the accommodation and the existence of locomotor problems in broilers. As a secondary objective will be observed if the ambience hospitalized avian interferes with the quality of the bed and the bed temperature has correlation to leg weakness in broilers. The project will be conducted in two commercial farms. The experiments will be monitored for two production batches of broilers, and conducted in two sheds being a negative pressure and bed shavings and other new type of positive pressure and reused litter type rice husk. There will be an observation in the field with 50 birds of 28, 35 and 42 days, identifying the frequency of birds with gait score of each level, with two replicates of each bird observation. Conditions will be recorded ambience of accommodation as well as the characteristics of the bed. The data will be analyzed seeking to understand the correlations between these variables. It is expected that, knowing and quantifying the variables can be inferred improvements to the housing conditions of the birds. (AU)