The Effects of Partially Slatted Floor Designs on Some Early Behavioral Traits in Broiler Chicks

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effects of different levels of slatted floor applications on some early behavioral characteristics of broiler chickens. Thus, it is aimed to minimize the negativities arising from both systems by combining the littered and slatted floor systems and to reveal the advantages of these systems by using them together. In this study, male-female mixed 650 fast-growing broiler chicks (Ross308) at d-old age were used. The experiment consisted of five treatment groups: fully littered, fully slatted, ½ littered+½ slatted, 1/3 littered+2/3 slatted, 2/3 littered+1/3 slatted. A total of 120 d-old chicks were weighed and randomly distributed to each treatment group, and 24 chicks (7 chicks/m2) were placed in each pen. Each treatment consisted of 5 replicates (5 pens; 25 pens in total) and wire mesh pens with a floor area of 3.50 m2 in each replicate. In the study, the feeding, drinking, resting, other behaviors, aggregation behaviors, and slatted floor preferences were evaluated three times a day (at 9.00, 13.00, and 17.00) of the chicks in each treatment group at the 2, 5, 9 and 11 days of age. Each behavioral trait was expressed as a percentage of the total number of chicks showing the relevant behavior at the pen level. After arcsin square root transformation to percentage data, statistical analysis was done with SPSS 21.0 statistical software. However, actual averages were used to interpret the traits. Different floor design practices significantly affected the chicks' feeding, resting, aggregation behavior, and preference for being on the slatted floor (P < 0.05). Feeding behavior was higher in chicks reared on the fully slatted floor than in the other groups (P < 0.001). The percentage of chicks showing resting behavior was highest in the 2/3 littered+1/3 slatted floor application (P = 0.001). Aggregation behavior was higher in chicks reared on a fully litter and 1/3 slatted floor (P = 0.024). The 64.42% of the chicks reared in 2/3 slatted, 47.53% of those reared in ½ slatted, and 36.38% of those raised in 1/3 slatted preferred the use of the slatted floor. In addition, it was determined that age significantly affected the behavioral characteristics of chicks in the early period (P < 0.05). The percentage of chicks showing feeding behavior was highest at 5 (16.12%) and 2 d-old (15.73%) (P = 0.001). The drinking behavior was found lowest at 2 (4.70%) and 5 (6.95%) days of age (P < 0.001). Resting behavior was highest at 2 (78.72%), 5 (76.89%), and 9 (72.82%) days of age (P < 0.001). Aggregation behavior was the highest at 2 (18.35%) and lowest at 11 days of age (2.56%). In conclusion, this study revealed that different floor designs affect some behavioral characteristics in the early chick period. Since it is known that early rearing conditions affect later performance in broilers, slatted floor systems with higher feeding behavior can be an effective tool for better performance in broiler production.