The influence of side-curtain color on broiler chick behavior

Abstract

Brazilian poultry production is prospering, and negative-pressure broiler houses are increasingly used to improve environmental control. One important issue is the color of the side curtains used in such houses due to the influence of colors on broiler behavior. This study aimed at evaluating the influence of different curtain color on the welfare of 7-day-old broilers, considering luminosity and other environmental parameters. Chicks were housed in three different negative-pressure broiler houses either with black (T1), blue (T2), or yellow (T3) side curtains. House environment (luminosity, dry-bulb temperature, air relative humidity, air velocity, and gas emissions) and the behavior of chicks on day 7 after housing were evaluated in three consecutive flocks in the morning and in the afternoon. Data were submitted to multivariate analysis, Kruskal-Wallis' test, and Pearson's correlation test. Luminosity and ITU were influenced by curtain color, and some of the evaluated behaviors were associated with luminosity or other environmental parameter.

Resfriamento da água utilizada em sistema de climatização evaporativo e o desempenho de frangos de corte

“…Os aviários foram equipados com forro e cortinas laterais de lona na cor azul (Abreu, Abreu, Coldebella, Jaenisch & Paiva, 2007;Vercellino et al, 2013), lâmpadas de aquecimento e iluminação, bebedouros, comedouros, cama de frango (palha de arroz), quadros de comando e acionamento dos sistemas elétricos (iluminação, climatizadores, sistema de refrigeração e bombas d'água).…”

Evaluation of broiler dark house illumination systems, with and without thermal insulation

“…The brightness of the environment has been proven to affect behavior, physiology, and welfare of broiler house (Classen et al, 2004;Rutz, & Bermudez, 2004;Olanrewaju et al, 2006;Kristensen et al, 2007;Lewis et al, 2007;Castellini et al, 2012;Deep et al, 2012;González-Garcia et al, 2014). These birds are kept in rooms with artificial lighting that differs from natural daylight in terms of color, intensity and photoperiod (Gou & Cherry, 2004;Lewis et al, 2004;Alvino et al, 2009) and intermittency (Vercellino, 2013). Cao et al (2008) and Mendes et al (2010) have shown that light intensity does affect the performance of the broiler.…”

Behavior of broilers subjected to different light spectra and illuminances

“…Broiler strains have fast growth and high genetic potential, but adequate conditions should be provided for birds to express this potential and achieve satisfactory productive performance (Vercellino et al, 2013).…”