Broiler Observation #1

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I began my first broiler observation on September 28, 2016; at this point, the chickens were 20 days old. I started my observation with room 8, which is the high stocking density, bright lighting room. The first thing I noticed about this room was that there were a lot more dark and dirty litter areas than compared to the other rooms. This would make sense considering there is double the amount of birds in room 8. There was also some caking underneath the waterlines, which indicated to me that there were probably some leaky nipples at some point in this room.

At the beginning of my watching, most of the birds were just lying around the middle of the room close to the dividing fence. However, after a few minutes the birds began to get up and walk around. The birds in this room were drinking a lot of water and constantly eating while I was observing, which made sense to me considering the bright lights in this room were encouraging them to eat and be active. If a lot of birds began eating in this room, it did appear that there was a little overcrowding in the feeding pans due to the amount of chickens in the pens. However, it did not look like there were any birds that were significantly smaller or not eating as much as the other ones. The temperature in room 8 was 81°F and 71 percent relative humidity.

The next room I visited was room 9. This room is a low stocking density room with bright lighting. Compared to room 8 there was visibly a lot more space and the litter did not appear to be as dirty. The birds were lying toward the middle of the room near the dividing fence. The temperature was 79.5°F and 71 percent relative humidity. This room could be a little cooler because of the fact that there are not as many birds in this room.

Next, I observed room 10, which is a replication of room 9, so it is also a low stocking density room with bright lighting. The birds in this room had plenty of room and the litter was relatively clean in comparison to room 8. The temperature in this room was 80.4°F and 69 percent relative humidity.

Then I observed room 11, which is a low stocking density room with dim lighting. The birds in this room were up and moving. They were drinking water but not eating too much. There did not appear to be any overcrowding in this room due to the low stocking density. The temperature in this room was 80.2°F and 70 percent relative humidity.

Lastly, I viewed the replication of room 11 in room 12, and is also a low stocking density room with dim lighting. The temperature of this room was 79°F and 70 percent relative humidity. The birds in this room had more feed left in their feeders in comparison to rooms 8, 9, and 10. The birds were lying around and not making much noise, but would get up to eat or drink every now and then.

Throughout this observation experience I was able to get visual knowledge about the birds. It was evident that the birds in a high stocked room had less space available, dirtier litter, and sometimes had overcrowding at the feeder pans and water lines. In the dimmer lit rooms the birds seemed to have less energy and were lying around more and appeared more tired. It was important for me to see these differences first hand because I had no prior experience in chicken houses. At this point, 20 days, there was not a noticeable size difference between the male and female chickens.