Stress Factors In Relation To Production Performance In Broiler Farms

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of stress factors on broiler performance. This study includes two parts; the first part is a field study on the broiler farms to investigate stressors present in these farms and their effects on broiler performance.I-Descriptive studyThirty broiler farms located in Belbes and Mashtool district atSharkia governorate were examined for its construction, stocking densityand litter type. The obtained results were summarized as follows:1- The most predominant aspect was the north- western ,where 26 farms(87%) from total of 30 have this aspect, while the farms which have allother aspects were 4farms only (13 %). from the thirty investigatedfarms, 26 farms (87%) were less than 12 m in width and 4 farms (13 %)were more than 12m in width. The farms with ventilation areas 20% ormore were 23 farms (76.7%), while farms with ventilation areas less than20% was7 farms (23.3%) from total of 30 farms. The length of allexamined farms not increased than 80 m.2- Stocking density of all investigated farms was equal to or less than 10birds 1m2, while the litter type was wheat straw in 18 farms and 12 farmswere found to use wood shaving as litter material.3- It was noticed that the best performance of broilers was in the farmswhich having essentials of natural ventilation ,where the mean bodyweight, feed consumption, feed conversion efficiency and mortality ratein these farms was 1.76 kg + 0.12 , 3.36 kg +0.24, 1.91+0.43, 4.6%±