Bilal Natiq Abdul-Wahhab(1) Ammar Talib Dhiab Al-Tememy(2) Basim Abboud Abbas*(2)
(1). General Company for Agricultural Supplies, Ministry of Agriculture, Iraq.
(2). Department of Animal Production, College of Agriculture, University of Diyala, Iraq.
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Basim Abboud Abbas. E-Mail: bsmmuhandis@yahoo.com).
Received: 18/05/2020 Accepted: 23/07/2020
Abstract
The experiment was carried out at a closed poultry hall, Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, Diyala University, during the period from 23/9 to 10/28. A total of 405 one-day old chicks, from Ross-308 strain were used, in order to study the effect of the density and location of the breeding hall on the rate of live body weight, average weekly weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion efficiency and the mortality rate. A complete randomized design was used to perform the statistical analysis with two factors and three replications. The results showed a significant effect of density 10 and 15 birds/m2 on body weight, weight gain and nutritional conversion efficiency. In terms of feed intake, the density 15 birds /m2 had a significant effect. No significant effect of site was noticed on body weight, feed intake and feed conversion efficiency. Regarding weight increase, the effect was significant at the end of the hall, while the weight increased significantly with the density 10 at the end of the hall. The effect of density 15 at the end of the hall, and density 10 at the middle of the hall had no significant effects compared with the other densities and locations. The results of the mortality rate indicated a significant effect of density 10 and 20, where the lowest mortality rate. The results of the study recommend the use of a density of 10 and 15 birds/m2, taking into account the provision of the same environmental conditions for all locations of the breeding hall.
Key words: Bird density, Rearing site, Closed poultry hall, Broiler.