Comparison of the effects of two poultry housing types on reproductive performance of Tre chicken

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of closed and open-sided houses on the reproductive performance of Tre chickens at 36-45 weeks of age. The results showed that feed consumption of chickens between closed and open-sided houses was different (P<0.05), with an average of 55.5 g/head/day in closed and 50.0 g/head/day in open-sided houses. In addition, the laying rate of chickens in closed was higher than in open-sided houses (42.5 and 34.6%, respectively). Egg weight, fertile egg ratio, and the hatchability rate of eggs from closed houses were significantly higher than those from open-sided houses. A higher culling rate of chickens in the open-sided type (0.37%) than closed one (0.25%) was also recorded. Overall, Tre layers in the closed houses were superior in terms of reproductive performance; however, further research on economic efficiency should be taken before applying this system widely.