Modification of the human-broiler relationship and its potential effects on production

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of additional human contact (AHC) on the human-animal relationship (HAR) in broilers and on the birds' productivity. A total of 1558 broiler one-day-old chicks were distributed into 12 equally sized pens at two different stocking densiti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta agriculturae Scandinavica. Section A, Animal science Animal science, 2016-07, Vol.66 (3), p.161-167
Main Authors: Silvera, A. M., Wallenbeck, A., Butterworth, A., Blokhuis, H. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and Dairy Science
Birds
Chicks
Contact
Feed conversion
Growth rate
human-broiler relationship
Husdjursvetenskap
mortality
Pens
Slaughter
Stocking
Touch test
Ultrasonic testing
welfare
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Summary:The present study was designed to investigate the effects of additional human contact (AHC) on the human-animal relationship (HAR) in broilers and on the birds' productivity. A total of 1558 broiler one-day-old chicks were distributed into 12 equally sized pens at two different stocking densities (SDs), calculated on estimated weight at slaughter (4 pens with 32 kg/m 2 and 8 pens with 16 kg/m 2 ). Six groups (2 high and 4 low SDs) received AHC, which consisted of 30-min sessions with visual human contact three days/week. The remaining six groups received as little human contact as possible and served as controls. A touch test was used to assess the human-broiler relationship and the production parameters measured were growth rate, mortality, feed consumption and feed conversion. The AHC treatment had a positive effect on the quality of the HAR but failed to affect any production parameter.
ISSN:0906-4702
1651-1972
1651-1972
DOI:10.1080/09064702.2017.1286379