Document Type : Articles
Authors
Department of Animal Production, College of Agriculture, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq
Abstract
This study was conducted in the facilities of the College of Agriculture, Tikrit University, and its purpose was to analyze the effect of environmental enrichment strategies on production performance, behavior, and air quality in broiler houses. The study included 180 Ross 308 chicks in four treatment groups: standard commercial rearing method, plastic dark boxes, wicker baskets, and straw boxes. This work investigated how broiler growth performance, such as body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio, was affected. It observed that environmental stimulation had a minimal effect on the productive performance of broilers. With regard to the behavior of birds, it was observed that the use of straw boxes and wicker baskets encouraged various natural behaviors, such as dust bathing and feather cleaning, and reduced other forms of stress, such as feather pecking. Dark plastic boxes were associated with excessive behaviors related to stress and anxiety such as standing, walking, jumping, and feather pecking. Therefore, these results emphasize the need to provide an appropriate type of shelter that better meets the needs of birds , that closely resembles their environment. This study also did not record any differences in air conditions for the parameters with birds subjected to different enrichment treatments; this spread shows that environmental enrichment should be incorporated into broiler houses without compromising the air quality that affects broilers. This result is important because previous studies have shown that poor air quality is a cause of respiratory diseases, reduced worker efficiency, and compromises the welfare of broilers.
Keywords
)