Effects of Sawdust or Grass-sod Floor Environments on Behaviour of Meat-type Chickens, Broilers and Kumamoto Breed

Abstract

This study aimed to examine effects of floor environments on behavior and growth of meat-type chickens as rudimentary information on development of rearing management systems ensuring their welfare. Six broilers and 12 Kumamoto breed were fed individually on sawdust and grass-sod floor environments, respectively, and investigated their feed intake, body weight, behaviour and feather condition. The feed intake of broilers did not significantly differ between both the floor environments, while the feed intake of Kumamoto breed tended to increase until the 7th day after introducing into the sawdust floor environment (P=0.06). There were no significant differences of weight gain and feed conversion ratio between both the floor environments. The most frequent floor pecking of Kumamoto breed occurred on the 7th day after introducing into the grass-sod floor environment (P<0.05). However, the time spent floor pecking did not differ for the broilers between both the environments. The feather of broilers fed in the grass-sod floor environment had the severest damage (P<0.05), while there were almost no stains on the feather of Kumamoto breed. These results suggest that the grass-sod floor environment is a factor improving the welfare level for Kumamoto breed but not for broilers.