Productive and hematologic responses of country poultry subjected to different housing densities and water salinity levels

The aim of this research was to evaluate the production and hematologic responses of confined Rhode Island Red chickens consuming water with 3 different levels of salinity and housed at different densities. Seven hundred and twenty birds were distributed in 36 experimental boxes built inside a poultry house according to a completely randomized design with a 3 x 3 factorial scheme with 3 salinity levels (SL) of water (1, 4, and 8 dS/m) and 3 housing densities (8, 10, and 12 birds/m(2)). Four birds were evaluated from each experimental box, thus totaling 16 repetitions (birds) per treatment. The productive performance, carcass yield, and hematologic traits of the birds in different experimental conditions were evaluated. Increasing water SL resulted in a significant increase (P < 0.05) in water and feed consumption beginning in the sixth week of life, causing an increase in the percentage of carcass and heart weight, with no changes in serum responses. Increasing housing density led to a reduction in water and feed consumption, weight gain, and feed conversion, thus reducing the chickens' blood magnesium levels.