Influence of the rearing systems and the implementation of elements of environmental enrichment in the quality of broiler meat

• Grant number: 19/08667-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2019
• End date: September 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Ibiara Correia de Lima Almeida Paz
• Grantee: Ana Júlia Garcia Satin
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the rearing system on partial confinement and the implementation of straw bales, platform with steps and rotating light globe as elements of environmental enrichment in the quality of the meat of broilers. Four thousand and two hundred one day-old male Cobb® Slow broilers from a commercial hatchery will be used, of which four thousand will be housed in a fully air-conditioned aviary in a fully automated system with negative pressure ventilation. The aviary will be delimited in the longitudinal direction. The experimental design will be the completely randomized with three treatments: No Environmental Enrichment (NEE): 2000 birds housed environment similar to that found in commercial aviaries; Environmental Enrichment (EE): 2000 birds housed in an environment similar to that found in commercial aviaries, meanwhile enriched with straw bales, ladders and rotating light globe; and Partial Conditioning (PC): 200 birds housed in partial confinement, in aviary with management center and access to pickets with forage and arboreal shading. The characteristics related to meat quality, pH, drip loss, cooking loss, pressure loss, shear force, coloration, moisture, mineral matter, protein, total lipids, fatty acid profile will be analyzed. Data that meet the assumptions of the statistical model (normality and homogeneity) will be analyzed by ANOVA and compared by the Tukey test at the 5% level of significance.