Broiler Flock Observation Report Day Day 28-42

When observing the flock during this time period, I noticed much less difference between the variables of the experiment. In general, the birds were very large and for the most part did not move. Most birds just lied on the litter and only stood up or moved to eat or drink. The birds were much less inquisitive and much less active than in the past two weeks. The high stocking density pens had a lot of cake while the low stocking density did not. I also observed that the water lines were to short for this age of bird. I observed that, when the water lines were this short, the birds would accidentally trigger the nipples while walking under the line and that, while drinking, not all of the water would go into their mouths, resulting in the litter getting wet and contributing to cake and ammonia levels in the house. In relation to sex, I noticed no difference in behavior between the sexes. The only difference was that the males were bigger than the females. In relation to stocking density, I saw very few differences between high and low stocking densities. In the high and low stocking density pens, when one bird moved, it would send a sort of shock wave of movement through the pen, causing no birds to get very restful sleep unless all birds were sleeping at once. The birds in low stocking density had to ‘fight’ their way to feeder only slightly less than in high stocking density pens. In respect to lighting, I saw some difference between the bright and dim sides. The birds on the bright side seemed to be not any more active, but a lot more awake and alert than the birds on the dim side. This means that the birds on the dim side seemed to get a lot better rest than birds on the bright side. Overall, the birds were a lot less active, and movement through the pens was a lot more difficult.