Department of Biometry, Epidemiology and Information Processing, WHO Collaborating Centre Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany; and.
Poult Sci. 2013 Oct;92(10):2576-87. doi: 10.3382/ps.2013-03207.
To establish which factors influence performance and bird welfare during a fattening period and to identify those factors to be investigated during routine monitoring of farms by veterinary authorities, a questionnaire-based field study was conducted in districts of Lower Saxony, Germany, with the highest density of broiler chickens. Mortality and BW of farms with different stocking densities (≤33, 33.1-39, and >39 kg/m(2)) were investigated. Analyses of 79 farms with 176 stables and 634 fattening periods revealed that flock mortality and BW appeared to be greatly influenced by weather conditions and litter material. In general, it is an advantage to grow broilers under warm weather conditions. However, the longer the fattening period lasts the more important it becomes that the outside weather conditions are not too warm. Therefore, weather conditions should be considered when determining the length of the fattening period, especially before the background of the growing demands of broilers regarding ventilation, absorption of feces by the litter material, and so on. Apart from the length of the fattening period, the weather conditions determine the choice of the litter material, as well. Under cold-humid weather conditions, it is better to use litter material other than wood shavings. In particular in older buildings it is not possible to provide the required conditions, which results in a lower weight gain the longer the fattening period lasts. The study identified differences in the final BW of flocks, which indicate different (farm) management policies. Regardless of the underlying policy, the performance of a fattening period can be improved by optimizing the farm management according to the prevalent conditions. Future routine monitoring, which should be cost effective regarding personnel and finance, should be generally risk based and consider weather conditions, litter material, the age of the building, and the length of the fattening period.
为了确定在育肥期间影响生产性能和禽类福利的因素，并确定兽医当局在对农场进行常规监测时需要调查的因素，在德国下萨克森州开展了一项基于问卷调查的实地研究，该地区拥有最高密度的肉鸡。研究了不同饲养密度（≤33、33.1-39 和>39kg/m²）的农场的死亡率和 BW。对 79 个农场的 176 个畜栏和 634 个育肥期进行的分析表明，鸡群死亡率和 BW 似乎受到天气条件和垫料材料的极大影响。一般来说，在温暖的天气条件下饲养肉鸡是有利的。然而，育肥期持续的时间越长，外部天气条件不太热就越重要。因此，在确定育肥期的长度时，特别是在肉鸡对通风、垫料材料吸收粪便等需求不断增长的背景下，应考虑天气条件。除了育肥期的长度外，天气条件还决定了垫料材料的选择。在寒冷潮湿的天气条件下，最好使用木屑以外的垫料材料。特别是在旧建筑中，无法提供所需的条件，这会导致育肥期持续时间越长，体重增加越低。该研究确定了鸡群最终 BW 的差异，表明了不同的（农场）管理政策。无论采用何种政策，根据流行情况优化农场管理都可以提高育肥期的表现。未来的常规监测，在人员和财务方面应该具有成本效益，应普遍基于风险，并考虑天气条件、垫料材料、建筑的年龄和育肥期的长度。
