CIRCULATION FANS AND BROILER WELFARE IN COMMERCIAL BROILER HOUSES

Abstract

Footpad dermatitis (FPD) is a welfare concern in broiler houses today that is often caused by inadequate management of living conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of high-capacity circulation fans on house litter moisture, temperature, relative humidity, noise volume, and broiler body weight, FPD prevalence and severity, hock burn prevalence, feather cleanliness, and behavior from 2 organic commercial flocks. For both flocks, two houses had 16 high-capacity circulation fans (Houses 1 and 2) and two did not (Houses 3 and 4). Welfare assessments took place when the birds were 3 and 6 weeks of age. With both flocks combined, a greater prevalence of FPD (P=0.001) and hock burn (P=0.0002) was observed for birds in the houses without fans than in the houses with fans at week 6. Flock 1 birds in the houses without fans had greater FPD lesion areas (P=0.0001) and FPD severity scores (P=0.0004) than birds in houses with fans. In Flock 2, there were more small birds in the houses without fans at week 6 (P≤0.03). The results of this study indicate that high-capacity circulation fans in commercial broiler houses could positively impact FPD and hock burn prevalence, FPD severity, and flock uniformity.