Performance Evaluation of Two Slow-Medium Growing Chicken Strains Maintained under Organic Production System during Different Seasons
[EN] A total of 160 1-day-old medium-growing male chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) were raised for 120 days in a certified organic farming system. A total of two strains were studied (Coloryield, CY; RedBro, RB). Overall, two weather periods were considered based on the outdoor temperature, being S...
| Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de León |
| Repository: | BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:buleria_____::58d47572c9e68910e203c1946cc9f49b |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/4/1090 https://hdl.handle.net/10612/28401 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Producción animal Veterinaria Climate Environment Growth Organic chicken Slow-medium line Weather period 3109 Ciencias Veterinarias 3104 Producción Animal |
| Summary: | [EN] A total of 160 1-day-old medium-growing male chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) were raised for 120 days in a certified organic farming system. A total of two strains were studied (Coloryield, CY; RedBro, RB). Overall, two weather periods were considered based on the outdoor temperature, being S1 colder than S2. In total, 40 chicks per strain were assigned to each period (n = 80). Chickens were fed ad libitum with the same organic feeds. In the first month, chickens were kept indoors and, from day 30, they had access to the pasture. Slaughter live weight (LW), average daily gains, (ADG), the feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality rates did not differ between the two strains. LW was (p < 0.05) higher in the S1 and a trend (p = 0.084) was observed for ADG, which was higher in S1. No differences were found for feed intake, FCR, and mortality rates between weather periods. There were no differences for coefficient of variation (CV) between the strains studied, nevertheless, CV for LW in S2 was increased. Differences in the productive performance between these strains raised in organic production systems were slight. However, chickens raised in S1 had a better performance. It would be preferable to raise chickens in these weather conditions whenever possible |
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