During my second observation, the first thing I noticed was there were a few birds that were much smaller in size compared to the rest of the flock. Some of the smaller males had less developed, and not as bright, combs and wattles compared to most of the other males. Pen 40, male/bright/heavy, had a bird that was significantly smaller. We determined he had a leg defect most likely a tendon split. He was still able to access food and water, but in a production setting he would have been a cull early on. It is important to have high uniformity and low CV to maximize profits. Also, pen 38, male/bright/light, had two birds that were smaller and had less developed, not as bright, combs and wattles. One of those birds seemed to have lameness. When I approached the pen, all the other birds were startled and ran to the back of the pen. He did not get up at all.
Another issue I observed was the cake present in the high stocking density pens. Cake was present in light stocking density pens also, but it was far worse in the heavy. This could be due to a few of the waterlines that were too low which increased the amount of water wasted. This could have been prevented by raising the waterlines high enough where the birds would have to stretch their necks to peck the nipple. Many of the feeders were a little low also. Some of the birds were laying down and still able to drink and eat. The outcome of this is an increase in wasted feed, which is the number one cost in poultry production.
Birds in heavy stocking density pens look really crowded and often step on each other. A few of the birds in these pens were panting and looked more uncomfortable than the low stocking densities. The temperature of the barn was 67 degrees, but because they produce more body heat in the heavy stocking density pens than the low, they were hotter. A lot of the birds are so heavy they crawl and sit with their legs sprawled out. If they were laying down, they would stretch out their legs. Other than the trouble with walking, the appearance of the birds’ paws and shanks were in good condition. Females in the flock were generally smaller, but they had prettier and more full feathers than males. Many of the females’ primary feathers were fast growing, so their wings stuck out and looked funny. A handful of birds were still trying to flap their wings like they wanted to fly, but they were way too heavy. The majority of the flock on the dim light side were laying down against the pen edges. Overall, the bright side birds were still louder, bigger, and more active than the dim light birds.
