EFFECT OF HOUSING SYSTEM ON BEHAVIOUR AND WELFARE STATUS OF COCKEREL CHICKENS

Abstract

A total of one hundred and eighty 8-week old cockerel chicks were used to evaluate the effect of different housing types on the performance of Isa brown cockerels. Sixty birds each were assigned to three housing types; deep litter (DL), deep litter with outdoor access (DLOA) and free range (FR) in a completely randomized design with each housing type serving as a treatment and having 4 replications of 15 cockerels each. Data were collected on behavioural and welfare parameters. All data generated were subjected to statistical analysis. The results showed that cockerels on the DL housing stood and drank more and sat less compared to the FR group. The DL group were more aggressive than the DLOA group. The DLOA group forage more than the DL group. Level of fear and stress were not influenced by housing as tonic immobility was similar amongst the housing types. It can be recommended that management systems that give outdoor access can be used to rear male layer type chicken to encourage positive behaviours and reduce the negative behaviours without adverse effect on their fear levels.