THE PRODUCTIVITY OF EGG-CROSS CHICKENS DEPENDS ON THEM NUMBERS IN CAGES OF 12-TIER BATTERIES

Abstract

The group size of hens is one of the key stimuli that affects the welfare of the bird. This is especially important for hens, which evolutionarily live in much smaller groups in the natural environment than in the conditions of enterprises producing edible eggs. But the specific parameters of hеns group size for keeping them in cages of multi-tiered batteries of traditional structures, known as "conventional cages" or "battery cages" according to the international classification, are not regulated by either domestic or foreign standards. There are only restrictions on the minimum number of chickens in one cage of batteries of "improved" designs ("modified enriched cages", or "furnished cages"). It should be at least 7 birds. Therefore, the purpose of the work was to study the productivity and efficiency of the production of edible eggs by increasing group size of hеns in cages of 12-tier batteries of traditional structures from 9 to 93 birds at the standard stocking density (area provision). For this, in the conditions of a modern complex for the production of edible eggs, 4 groups of hens were formed, each of which was kept in a separate poultry house-similar in area (2915 m2), equipped with 12-tier "Big Dutchman" cage batteries, the size and area of which cages differed. The group size of hens on 1st group was 9 birds/cage, 2 groups – 17 birds/cage, 3 groups – 52 birds/cage, 4 groups – 93 birds/cage, density of keeping hens of all groups – 22.6-23.1 birds/m2 with regulatory requirements no more than 25 birds/m2. It was established that an increase the group size of hens in cages from 9 to 93 birds contributes to an increase in the level of preservation (by 5.7%), laying per initial laying hen (by 9.1%), the volume of egg production (by 71.4%), in including based on the calculation per 1 m2 of the poultry house area, the level of profitability of their production from 34.7% to 40.1% and the reduction of the cost price from 1.70 to 1.56 UAH/egg.