EFFECT OF STOCKING DENSITY ON AIR-QUALITY AND HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE OF HEAVY TOM TURKEYS

Four environmental chambers housing either 75 (5.5 birds/m(2)) or 37 t urkeys (2.8 birds/m(2)) were used to study the impact of stocking dens ity on air quality, bird health, and performance under similar per bir d ventilation rates (3 L/s per bird). Stocking density had little effe ct on air quality or Liveweight gain. The following observations were made for the high and low density stocked chambers, respectively: resp irable dust concentrations were 26 and 24 particles/mL, mean ammonia c oncentrations were 4 and 4 ppm, mean carbon dioxide levels were 1830 a nd 1890 ppm, ammonia production was 0.05 and 0.06 L/h per bird, and ca rbon dioxide production was 9.3 and 8.8 L/h per bird. Lung lesion inci dence and severity was not significantly different between stocking de nsities, although lesion severity tended to increase with increased de nsity. A greater percentage of birds in the high density treatment gas ped when the ambient temperature was temporarily elevated (31% high de nsity, 6% low density). Eight, 12 and 16 week body masses and feed:gai n were not influenced by density or lesion score.