Effect of transport duration, access to feed and water during transportation on growth performance and organ development of broilers

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of transport duration and access to feed and water during the transportation of broiler chicks on growth performance, yolk sac weight, development of intestine and immune organs, and carcass yields of broilers.Material and methods: A total of 256 Cobb broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery. Depending on the treatment, chicks were divided into 4 groups and subjected to either 1.5 h (DS) or 6.0 h (DL) transportation with (AFW) or without access to feed and water (NFW) during the transportation. Chicks from each subgroup were assigned to 4 floor pens (16 pens in total) and reared until 42 d.Results: Our results confirmed that AFW improved body weight, breast fillet, food consumption, yolk sac weight at day 2, and development of immune and intestinal at day 42, (7 d) as compared with the NFW. Our study also indicated that DL group attempted to compensate their growth retardation by increasing their feed intake during the first week of their lives as compared to DS group. However, DL group broilers did not catch up with the broilers from DS group at slaughter age and had worse FCR.Conclusion: This study shows that there is a positive effect on broiler performance by providing feed and water during the transportation.