ABSTRACT:
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two housing systems (cage vs. floor) on productiveperformance and some physiological traits of broiler chickensreared in enclosed houses. A total number of 3120 chicks were randomly chosen for both housing systems. The number of 3120 chicks were divided into two groups: the first was housed in cages (n=1560) and the second was housed on the floor (n=1560). A selected number of birds for each housing system were divided to four replicates containing 390 birds each. Results showed that LBW, BWG, livability % and EPEF recorded significantly (P ≤0.05) higher values for birds housed in cages than birds housed on floor. Also, the best FCR was observed for birds stocked in cages compared with birds housed on floor (P ≤0.05). While, total faecal microbial count showed higher values for birds housed on floor than birds housed in cages. However, data revealed that there were insignificant differences detected for most blood parameters, except with H/L ratio, where birds housed on floor exhibited higher (P ≤0.05) levels than birds kept in cages. The present result clearly indicated that, antibody titer response detected against NDV showed similar trend for both housing systems. While, birds preserved in cages exhibited significantly higher (P ≤0.05) values of giblets, dressing carcass and abdominal fat than birds housed on floor system. While, insignificant differences were observed between housing systems concerning carcass chemical compositions. Interestingly, it was concluded that cage reared broiler showed better performance compared to littered floor rearing system.