EFFECT OF STOCKING DENSITY ON THE THERMO-PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS OF BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to assess the effect of stocking density on the thermo-physiological traits of broiler chickens. A total of one hundred and eight broiler chicken were randomly allotted into three treatments (10 birds/m’), T, (12birds/m’), T, (14 birds/m’) with three replicates per treatment in a completely randomized design. Parameters measured include: rectal temperature, pulse rate and respiratory rate; microclimate data (ambient temperature and relative humidity) were also recorded. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance using SAS (2004). Results obtained from this study show that there were significant (p<0.05) effect of stocking density on pulse rate and the respiratory rate of broiler chickens. However, there was no significant (p>0.05) effect of stocking density on rectal temperature of the broiler chickens. Based on the results of this study, heat sensitivity of broiler chicken in terms of pulse rate and respiratory rate increased with increase in stocking density