The Effect of Humidity and Flooring Type on Body Weight and the Severity of Keel Bursae in Broilers

Koonz et al. (1963) reported that chickens grown on wire floors had a higher incidence of keel bursae than those raised on rubber mats. McCune and Dellmann (1968) observed similar results in broilers grown on wire floors, but broilers grown on polyurethane foam mats had few keel bursae. The following experiments were conducted to determine the effect of humidity and flooring type on the severity of keel bursae and body weight in broilers. EXPERIMENTAL The experiments were conducted in 4 environmental chambers previously described by Hellickson et al. (1970) with broiler type chickens fed a high energy ration. Relative humidity (RH) levels were maintained at 33, 58, 65 and 80%. The design of these experiments was described in detail by Peterson et al. (1970). In both trials broilers were maintained until 8 weeks of age The types of flooring used were; 1.9 cm. flat wooden slats spaced 0.6 cm. apart,…