Effects of Slatted Floor and Slow Growing Broilers on Growth Performance and Production Economics

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of g e notype an d flo or typ e on broiler growth per formance and p ro duction eco nomics. In the study, slow-growing (Hubbard JA57) and fast-growing (Ross 308) broilers with slatted floor and deep litter were used, so there were four main groups (2x2), and each main group consisted of 5 replicates. Each replicate consisted of 10 male chicks, so 200 birds were used in total. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks. Live weight gain, feed consumption, and dead birds were recorded throughout the experiment. Variable costs of each group and its percentages within total costs were calculated, gross profit and profitability were calculated to analyze economic performance. As expected, the growth performance of fast-growing broiler was found to be better than slower-growings, and the effect of floor type on growth performance was found to be insignificant. In general, slow-growing genotypes were found to be better in terms of economic benefit. As a result of this study, even though fast-growing broilers had a better production performance, slowergrowing broilers had a better economic performance at the end of the experiment. However, considering that the slaughter ages of slowand fast-growing birds are different in commercial conditions, it would be more beneficial to make an economic comparison with the total production in the same unit in one year.