Cooled Multifunctional Platforms to Alleviate Heat Stress in Broiler Chickens: Effects on Performance, Carcass and Meat Quality Traits.

Platforms have been shown to be a suitable environmental enrichment for broiler chickens, accommodating their motivation to roost and rest at an elevated position. In order to increase the animal welfare benefits, we designed prototype elevated platforms with additional functionalities: a local cooling system, a sheltered area underneath the platform and collection trays underneath the platform that prevent manure from falling on the litter. This study assessed the effects of these multifunctional platforms during thermoneutral and heat stress conditions on two key determinants of their commercial uptake potential, namely production performance, carcass and meat quality.

Dietary phytase effects on copper requirements of broilers.

Information on the availability of Cu from plant feedstuffs for broilers in the presence of phytase is scarce. The present research has been conducted with the objective of evaluating the Cu requirements of broilers when fed corn-soy diets with or without phytase. A total of 640 one-day-old male Cobb x Cobb 500, allocated into 80 battery cages with 8 chicks in each, were fed a low Cu content diet (formulated with 8.

Research Note: Corn energy and nutrient utilization by broilers as affected by geographic areas and carbohydrases.

Two experiments (Exp.) were conducted to evaluate the effects of exogenous carbohydrases on nutrient and energy utilization of corn with different compositions by broilers. In Exp.