Impact of Stocking Density on Broiler Chicken Performance, Blood Biochemisty, and Carcass Attributes in an Intensive Rearing System

The goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of stocking density on performance, welfare, haemato-biochemical indices, and carcass traits of broiler chickens raised under intensive rearing systems. Present investigation was conducted on broilers aged 6 weeks at poultry unit of Livestock farm complex, College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Navania, Udaipur (Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences) India. There were three treatment groups i.e., D1 with 8 birds/m2, D2 served as control having 10 birds/m2, D3 with 12 birds/m2, respectively. Each treatment group showed a statistically significant (P 0.05) effect on body weights, growth, and feed conversion efficiency (P 0.05). Treatment group D1 had the highest body weight, body weight gain, better feed conversion ratio (FCR) at 42 days of age, followed by D2 (control) and D3. Stocking density significantly (P 0.05) influenced some behavior traits such as drinking and locomotion. Hemoglobin (Hb) and heterophil to lymphocytes (H/L) ratios were significantly affected (P 0.05) by all three stocking densities. Biochemical measures were unaffected between the three stocking densities. Except for the heart percentage, which was non-significant, stocking densities had a significant (P 0.05) influence on carcass traits such as neck, back, dressing, drum stick, liver, and gizzard percentages. The results of this study revealed that having a higher live body weight in a smaller space increases productivity when it comes to profitably rearing birds and keeping them for longer than 40 days.