Evaluation of broiler chicken rearing methods using staged slaughter

Abstract

The research findings on the evaluation of the methods of floor and battery rearing of broiler chickens using staged slaughter are discussed. The study was conducted on the poultry farm OOO Udmurtskaya ptitsefabrika in the Udmurt Republic; broiler chickens of the Ross 308 cross were reared. Three groups of broiler chickens were formed using the balanced group method. In the 1st and 3rd groups, broiler chickens were reared on floor on a deep sawdust litter. The chickens of the 2nd group were managed in an AviMax cage battery of a four-tier design. In the 1st and 2nd groups, the broiler rearing duration was the same and lasted for 39 days during the first stage of slaughter at the age of 30 days. In the 3rd group, the rearing time was extended to 42 days with the first stage of slaughter at the age of 32 days. The survival of the chicken for the entire rearing in the 2nd and 3rd groups was 95.9%. In the 1st group, it was significantly lower by 2.6%. The yield of broiler chickens per 1m² of area was higher in the 2nd group under cage management and amounted to 24.5 heads. In the groups of floor management, the output of broiler chickens had practically no differences and was in the range of 21.1-21.2 heads m². The broiler rearing method did not have a significant effect on live weight formation during the rearing period. The chickens of the 3rd group gained significantly higher live weight and had larger average daily gains due to the rearing duration. The longer rearing time (by 3 days), and the extension of the first stage of slaughter by 2 days contributed to increased chicken yield by 5.6 kg per 1 m² of production area. In the 3rd group, the maximum value of the European Production Efficiency Factor was obtained - 392.5 which was significantly higher than those of the 1st and 2nd groups by 19.3 and 18.3 units.