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This study compared growth and carcass traits of 2 medium-growth crossbred, 4 slow-growth crossbred, 1 commercial slow-growth and 1 commercial fast-growth broiler strains raised in indoor and free-range production systems. One hundred twenty chicks of each strain were raised in each production system. Chicks were raised in indoor pens at a density of 10 chicks per m2. From day 29 until slaughter at 84 days of age, chicks in the free-range system were given outdoor access through doors that were open between 8.00 - 17.00 hours. The study found live weight, feed efficiency, and mortality were significantly affected by strain. However, no significant differences were found between the production systems. Outdoor access varied significantly among strains, with the commercial high-growth and medium-growth crossbred strains making less use of outdoor areas. In terms of performance traits, none of the strains showed any significant differences in performance between the indoor and free-range production systems. However, significant differences among the strains in carcass traits, pH, and colour values of thigh and breast meat were observed in connection with differences in growth rate. Moreover, carcass and breast yields were greater in fast and medium-growth broilers, while ratios of edible inner organs were greater in medium and slow-growth broilers. Keywords: abdominal fat, animal welfare, breast to thigh ratio, feed efficiency, outdoor access, slaughter and carcass traits

The effect of intermittent feeding and cold water on performance and carcass traits of broilers reared under daily heat stress ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of intermittent feeding and cold water on performance and carcass traits in broiler chickens between 4 to 6 wk of age with daily high temperature. Methods: Broilers were assigned to four treatment groups according to a 2x2 factorial design between 22 to 42 d of age (80 broilers per treatment, 4 replications). Broilers were divided into two main groups as feeding type (ad-libitum (AL) and intermittent (IF) for 6 h daily) and subgroups as water temperature (normal (NW): 24.9 o C and cold (CW): 16.4 o C). Heat treatment was applied between 11.00 to 17.00 h daily between 22 to 42 d of age. Results: Live weight at 6th wk was not affected by feeding type and water temperature, but the live weight was significantly higher in IF chickens at the 5th wk (p <0.05). Average weekly gain of IF broiler chickens were higher compared to AL group at 4, 5, and 6 wk of age (p <0.05). Although feeding type did not affect feed intake in 4 and 5th wk, feed intake was higher in IF chickens at 6th wk (p <0.01). In addition, feeding type and water temperature did not affect feed conversion ratio and interactions were not significant (p >0.05). Water temperature had no significant effect on heart, liver, gizzard, and abdominal fat percentages (p >0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that IF increased the average weekly gain in chickens reared under daily heat stress for 6 h between 22 to 42 d of age. IF in hot environmental conditions slightly increased performance without adversely affecting health, welfare, and physiological traits, whereas CW implementation had no significant effect on performance. It can also be said that IF suppresses a sudden increase in body temperature depending on age and live weight.

Broiler pure lines are valuable breeding species and morphometric traits are advantageous for the selection of breast yield since they could be applied practically and without any negative impact on welfare. In this study, live weight (LW), carcass weight and ratio (CW and CR), breast weight and ratio (BW and BR), abdominal fat weight and ratio (AFW and AFR), morphometric traits such as breast width, length and index (BWD, BL and BI) were investigated in broiler pure lines. The research material consisted of 3 dam (A1, A2 and A3) and 2 sire (B1, B2) pure lines of 42 days of age. LW, CW, BW, AFW, AFR, BR, BL, BWD and BI values were different between the two lines (p<0.05). LW, CW, BW and BI were higher in sire lines. The relationship between breast weight and index were also higher in sire and dam lines than the relationships between breast width and length separately (in sire lines: BWD: 0.73; BL: 0.79; BI: 0.79, in dam lines: BWD: 0.79; BL: 0.74; BI: 0.84). In addition, high r 2 values were determined in regression equations for BW estimation in dam and sire lines (0.836 and 0.857, respectively). Because of the significant correlations between breast yield and its morphometric traits, it is seen that more feasible, ease of measurement, protection of breeding resources and welfare. It is thought that the use of breast index which shows a higher correlation compared to these traits will increase selection efficiency instead of using breast width and length separately.

Abstract. This study aimed to determine the changes in the performance, welfare, and productivity level of broiler chickens reared at various group sizes (GS3000, GS4000, GS6000, and GS20 000) under intensive field conditions. The study was carried out according to a randomized block design with four different group sizes (GS) in three trials. Weekly body weights (BWs) were determined randomly in 150 individuals from each GS group. Feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and European production efficiency factor (EPEF) were determined for each GS treatment. Body defects (footpad dermatitis, FPD, hock burn, HB, and the breast burn, BB) were measured randomly in 150 chickens (75 male and 75 female) from each group using a visual scoring system with a 0–3 scale. At 1 and 2 weeks of age, GS3000 broilers had similar BW to GS6000 and higher than GS4000 and GS20 000. However, this situation changed at 6 weeks of age and the male chickens in GS6000 became heavier than in GS3000, GS4000 and GS20 000 (P = 0.007). No differences in mean values of temperature, humidity, air velocity and litter moisture levels were observed among GS treatments. GS3000 and GS4000 chickens had significantly lower levels of FPD, HB, and BB than chickens reared in GS6000 and GS20 000 (P < 0.001). The EPEF values from highest to lowest were 425.8, 404.5, 358.8, and 354.0 in the GS6000 GS3000, GS4000, and GS20 000 groups, respectively. In conclusion, our study results showed that rearing in groups of 6000 broilers had both better performance and higher overall productivity than other groups but tended to show more severe body defects.

In the present study, the fertility rate and egg-hatching results from either natural mating or artificial insemination using 1- and 2-year-old domestic Turkish geese were compared. Sperm quality traits of 1- and 2-year-old ganders used for mating were determined. The study comprised 72 two-year-old females, 12 one-year-old, and 12 two-year-old ganders at the beginning of the laying period. Thirty-six female geese were mated naturally (18 with 1-year-old ganders, 18 with 2-year-old ganders); the remaining 36 were artificially inseminated (18 with 1-year-old ganders, 18 with 2-year-old ganders). Twenty-four ganders were separated into groups (12 for natural mating; 12 for artificial insemination). The male-to-female ratio in both mating protocols was 1:3. The geese were housed during the laying period in a natural and artificially ventilated house under natural lighting (increased day length). Quality traits, such as semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm quality factor (SQF), sperm motility, and some sperm morphological properties were determined. Fertility was higher in the groups containing 2-year-old ganders than in those using 1-year-old ganders (P < 0.05). The effect of insemination on semen volume, sperm concentration, SQF, sperm motility, total live sperm, normal sperm, macrocephalus sperm, and dead sperm was determined to be significant (P < 0.05). As a result, there is a need to improve the egg production and broody behavior traits of domestic Turkish geese. In addition, the use of 2-year-old geese in artificial insemination is appropriate and will contribute positively to the breeding and selection process.

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