Influence of and Interactions Between Feeder and Water Allowance, Sex, and Crossbred on Broiler Performance

POULTRY breeders and growers are in terested in knowing the performance of various broiler crosses under similar management conditions in order to ascertain the relationships between heredity and environment. Although some research has been conducted to determine these relationships, little information is available which pertains to the interactions of broiler crossbreds and environmental factors during various seasons of the year. If such interactions are of major importance, management recommendations may have to be restricted to the specific environmental conditions most favorable to a particular crossbred. Merritt and Gowe (1956) found a significant strain-location interaction for 6-week body weight in males and for 10-week breast angle in females. These interactions, however, were not significant in the opposite sex. No strain-location interactions were obtained in either sex for body weight, keel length or shank length at 10 weeks of age. Krueger et al. (1957) in an experiment using several strains of broilers …