Desempenho produtivo, rendimento de carcaça e bem-estar animal em frangos de corte de diferentes linhagens e densidades de alojamento

Abstract

The poultry industry is one of the activities of livestock that have developed over the past years. In this context, Brazil is in a unique position, being the third largest producer and largest exporter of chicken meat in the world. With this massive expansion and also with the increasing costs of production have been observed for some time, a great interest in increasing the number of birds per m², providing an optimization of production by area. However, studies show that high densities lead to an unfavorable environment for the birds, causing stress and causing a decline in production indices, such as feed conversion, feed intake and daily weight gain. Moreover, in most cases, provide greater economy to the grower because of a higher meat production per unit area. Increased housing density leads to a decrease in the level of welfare of the birds can be observed in these animals when walking problems, increased rates of contact dermatitis, arthritis, bruises and wounds of the skin, leading to condemnation of carcasses. Also, due to stress, can cause physiological changes such as an increase in serum protein, glucose, and triglycerides with variation in the heterófios: lymphocytes. In view of this and the introduction of new strains in commercial poultry market, it becomes necessary for industry and producer, defining features and limits production because the lines may have different responses to the environment in which they are subjected. In this context, this work aims to address at first through a literature review of the effect of high housing densities on live performance, animal welfare, performance and carcass quality in broilers. The second objective is to develop a chapter with an article entitled: "Effect of population density on live performance, animal welfare, performance and carcass quality in broilers of different commercial strains."