A Comparison of Broilers Grown in Environmentally Modified and Conventional Housing at Different Population Densities ,

A study was conducted to evaluate the economic feasibility of rearing broilers in environmentally modified versus conventional houses. Three broiler production trials involved over 27,000 broilers were conducted using densities of .07 sq. meter and .06 sq. meter per bird. There were two replicates of each density in each of the two houses in three separate trials. The control house in this study was a conventional, uninsulated, drop-curtain sided house with a dirt floor. The environmentally modified house was enclosed with metal siding insulated in the side walls and ceiling, and ventilated with thermostatically controlled fixed and variable speed fans. Body weight and feed conversion were significantly improved in the environmentally modified house. Mortality was significantly decreased in the environmentally modified house. Bird density did not influence performance in this study. An economic analysis indicated that the added initial cost of environmentally modified housing should be recovered in three and one-half years.