I observed our flock on day 26 at one thirty pm. The birds took a few minutes to settle down once I entered the farm. I placed my bucket in the center near the second humidifier. The first thing I noticed was the birds on the dim light density side were more quiet than the birds on the bright side. The dim light birds also were less active. Most of the birds on the dim side were laying down close to the front of the pin because that was the brightest spot in their pen. The birds laying at the back of the pen were mostly sleeping, but the ones at the front near the light were alert. Many of the birds laying down seemed bored so they passed the time by pecking into the litter. Some of the birds on the bright side were laying down near the edges of the pen, but not as many. The bright light birds were more active, thus eating and drinking more than the dim light birds. Some of the birds exposed to bright light looked like they weighed more than the birds exposed to the dim light.
The second thing I noticed about the flock was their appearance. The male birds had just started to grow their primary feathers in. The skin was still visible around the necks and wings on the males, but most of the females were much fuller already. Many of the birds hopped and flapped their wings like they were trying to fly. Also some of the birds walked with a crawl. The male birds had a more prominent comb than the females. Their combs were larger and a brighter red. The males also pecked at each other, especially in the high stocking density pens.
The stocking density has a huge affect on poultry production, in my opinion. The heavy stocking density pens already showed signs of caking. The waterline has to be low enough for the smallest birds so more water was being wasted. The light stocking density pens had little to none being wasted. The heavy stocking density pens were more hectic. A lot of the birds were panting, pecking at each other, and getting stepped on. In the light stocking density pens, the birds were not as aggressive. A few pens had mortalities and those birds had more room and were more calm. The individual weight for the birds in the heavy stocking density varied more than the light stocking density pen. There were more birds, so they had less of a chance to eat and drink whenever they wanted. There was a bird either occupying the nipple or feed pan, or was in the way of the other birds trying to get access. Most of the birds in the heavy stocking density pens were smaller than in the light pens.
