Abstract
SUMMARY Poultry producers have experienced increased production efficiency that is partially attributable to advances in housing technology and instrumentation. This advancement, coupled with continual strain improvements in commercial broilers for growth rate, FE, and livability, results in realized annual improvements in productivity. In this study, we present data on performance collected between 2004 and 2008 from a commercial 4-house farm at the University of Arkansas Applied Broiler Research Farm. Preretrofit years were 2004 to 2005 and postretrofit years were 2006 to 2008. Performance improvements due to housing and equipment changes, including replacing curtain-sided with totally enclosed housing systems, were quantified by measuring the difference between this farm and the industry live performance for corresponding years. In our comparison, we demonstrated that after the contribution of yearly strain improvements and associated nutritional and health programs are taken into account, modern broiler housing with better environmental-control capability is important for optimizing weight gain, feed conversion, and livability.
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