an experiment was performed to investigate the energy efficiency and effect of poultry house size on energy productivity in 3 different capacity management systems. capacities of houses were 10000(3 housings), 20000 (2 housings) and 28000 (1 housing) birds per production period and were assigned as hi, hii and hiii respectively. this experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design ap...

Poultry housing Improvements to poultry housing systems in developing countries have focused on providing an environment that satisfies the birds’ thermal requirements. Newly hatched birds have a poor ability to control body temperature, and require some form of supplementary heating, particularly in the first few days after hatch. Many developing countries are located in tropical areas where m...

The extensive system of poultry production (commonly known as “free-range”) is based on the practice of allowing the bird access to foraging areas outside the poultry house. This system was widely practiced prior to the development of more productive strains of poultry and better management facilities (automated feeding and watering, better housing, environmental control) around the middle of t...

R.M. GODS Department of Animal Science and Poultry Science, University of Natal, P.O. Box 375, Pietermaritzburg, 3200 Republic of South Africa Since poultry breeding started in earnest over 50 years ago there have been considerable environmental changes in the industry, some beneficial (improved disease control, housing, nutrition, lighting) and some deleterious (increased stocking rates, large...

An epidemic of high pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) occurred in the Netherlands in 2003. A census survey of 173 infected and 401 uninfected commercial poultry farms was carried out to identify factors associated with the introduction of the HPAI virus into poultry farms. Data on farm size, production characteristics, type of housing, presence of cattle and pigs were gathered by the Nationa...

Organic poultry production has substantially increased in the last few years. On organic farms, welfare of poultry is enhanced due to enriched housing conditions as access to a free range area. This may reduce feather pecking and keep the health status at least on the same level as on conventional farms. However, welfare of organic poultry may be further improved if: (a) laying hens are already...

This study examined flock size and management, level of internal and external parasite burden and seroprevalence of antibodies to poultry pathogens in indigenous chickens in Bokaa village, Kgatleng district, Botswana. The mean flock size was 22.6 +/- 6.85 with a range of 11-34. The mean body weights of cocks and hens were 2.28 +/- 0.56 kg and 1.70 +/- 0.38 kg, respectively. Housing and commerci...

Commercial poultry production is rapidly expanding worldwide to meet the needs of the increasing human population. Further, with the reduced cost and enhanced incomes the per capita poultry meat consumption is increasing. Many poor and middle class farmers in developing countries are taking up poultry to supplement their income and this industry has become a major income source to them. The ind...