Modern systems for keeping broiler chickens: domestic and international experience (review)

The article describes the characteristics of various systems of growing broiler chickens. The broiler farming system is the most important factor affecting the productivity, safety and economic efficiency of poultry meat production. In industrial poultry farming, the following methods of growing broilers for meat are used: on deep bedding, heated floors, mesh floors and in cell batteries. Many disadvantages and economic indicators of growing broilers on litter and heated floors force scientists and practitioners to search for alternative systems for keeping poultry. The technology of growing broilers in cell batteries is an essential reserve for a rapid and significant increase in meat production. With this technology, the number of poultry in the poultry house increases by 2.5-3 times, and therefore the yield of meat per unit of floor area of the poultry house without reducing the safety of livestock and the quality of carcasses. However, due to the lack of conditions in classical cell batteries to meet the physiological and behavioral needs of poultry and, consequently, public disapproval, they are legally prohibited in several US states and in all countries of the European Union. The system of growing broilers on mesh floors, as well as the cellular one, eliminates the use of bedding material, which minimizes the contact of the bird with the droppings. When developing the technology for growing broilers, it is necessary to take into account the current trends of the world poultry industry, as well as the experience of keeping poultry on perforated mesh floors, the advantages of floor and cage systems for keeping poultry. There is a growing interest in environmentally friendly "organic" products that were produced using technologies that are as close as possible to the natural conditions of keeping poultry.