Effects of Range Access on Behavioral-Based Welfare Indicators and Foot Health Condition of Slow- and Fast-Growing Broiler


PETEK M., PETEK M.

Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, cilt.49, sa.2, ss.75-81, 2023 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 49 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.5152/actavet.2023.22094
  • Dergi Adı: Acta Veterinaria Eurasia
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.75-81
  • Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study was made to investigate outdoor range access on behavioral- based welfare parameters and post-mortem foot health conditions of slow- and fast-growing broilers in experimental conditions. There were four treatment groups (two genotypes as fast- and slow-growing birds × 2 indoor housing systems with or without range access) with five replicates. The behavior of 200 male chicks in the groups was observed at 8 weeks of age. The foot health condition was determined after slaughter. Fast-growing broilers spent more time with feeding, drinking, and dust bathing (p ≤ .001, p ≤ .001, and p ≤ .006). The locomotion and standing behavior were found to be greater in slow-growing broilers than fastgrowing broilers (p ≤ .001 and p ≤ .001). The birds in conventional deep litter spent more time with drinking (p ≤ .001) and lying behavior (p ≤ .046). The post-mortem incidence of the foot pad and hock joint dermatitis was found to be greater in fast-growing broilers in both housing groups (p ≤ .05). The results have shown that the broilers with outdoor access exhibited more natural behavior such as preening and slow-growing birds spent more time performing locomotion and standing. Slow-growing broilers had also less post-mortem foot pad and hock joint lesions compared to fast-growing broilers.