Vol. 10, Special Issue 7 (2021)

Author(s):
C Ramakrishnan, R Narendra Babu, V Appa Rao, P Tensingh Gnanaraj and R Vimal

Abstract:
The study aims to estimate the production loss in the broiler sector at the time of transportation by measuring live weight losses and the mortality rate due to transport, and evaluate the microclimate (temperature, relative humidity) of broiler cages in trucks at every 5 km transport distances. A total of 24 visits from different farms to retail outlets in the winter and summer seasons and data were collected for study. Summer was the more critical period for broiler transport and observed no significant difference in the mortality rate. But bruising on carcasses will be found irrespective of season and distance traveling. This study estimated the live weight shrinkage in summer and winter respectively 2.36% and 3.01%, the mortality percentages were 0.43% and 0.53%, and the average weight loss per bird is 55.42 ± 5.65 and 70.98 ± 6.01 grams respectively. In summer, truckload birdcage and its microclimate changes during transport cause significant economic losses. Hence, it is necessary to care for birds before and after transportation.