The demand for broiler colony systems has been increasing around the globe for the past 10 years. Despite the popularity of these systems, there has been a lack of scientifically reliable data – until recently.

Healthy feet - healthy bird

In its April edition, Poultry International reported that Big Dutchman carried out an empirical study in cooperation with the University of Goettingen (Germany) to examine the performance of broilers kept in the Avimax colony system.

From the study, it was concluded that the performance of broilers was clearly above average. Important factors such as daily weight gains of 64 grams and a feed conversion of 1:1.57 underline the economic advantages of management systems without litter.

In addition, mortality as well as foot pad infections were at a very low level. This leads to reduced doses of medicines and affords higher levels of animal welfare, despite the limited space for movement.