The Effect of Limited-Area Brooding on Broiler Chicken Performance

Four limited-area brooding systems were compared to full-house brooding to determine the effect on growth rate, feed conversion, and mortality. The limited-area brooding systems evaluated were: 1) half-house, 2) third-house, 3) quarter-house for initial brooding followed by half-house for second brooding stage, and 4) quarter-house with wire floor for initial brooding followed by half-house with litter for second stage. Floor space allocations in the limited areas were determined by multiplying the area allocation at market age by the ratio of the time in the limited area to the total growing time. There were no significant differences in growth rate or feed conversion at market age among the brooding systems evaluated. Mortalities for the conventional full-house system, and the quarter-house system with wire floor were significantly greater than for the third-house system and quarter-house system with litter.