The Use of Different Types of Cage Bottoms to Reduce Breast Blisters in Battery Reared Broilers

Present methods of catching and handling of commercial broilers are inefficient and costly. If birds could be moved to market in the same equipment in which they are grown, many of the handling procedures would be simplified. This could be accomplished by designing growing batteries suitable for transporting birds. Heretofore, one of the major objections to battery-grown broilers has been the high incidence of breast blisters resulting from the use of conventional wire bottoms. The present experiment was designed to study the effectiveness of different types of cage bottoms in reducing breast blisters (Table 1). White Plymouth Rock male birds (free of breast blisters at four weeks of age) were grown from four to eight weeks of age on each type of experimental bottom. These data indicate that the type of cage bottoms used influenced the incidence of breast blisters. Wire bottoms and metal rods produced the highest number of …