Productive performance and carcass yield of egg type male chickens raised with outdoor access in the tropics

This study aimed to compare growth and slaughter performance of layer-type slow-growing Rhode Island Red male chickens grown with and without access to an area with vegetation in the tropics. Raised until 115 days of age, a total of 156, 1-day-old birds were randomly allocated to two treatments: total confinement (TC) and partial confinement (PC), with 6 replicates of 13 birds each. Birds grown under TC conditions reached a live weight of 2016.68 g while those raised with access to outdoors attained 1981.07 g, without statistical differences. Feed intake and daily feed intake were higher (P < 0.05) in birds farmed with TC management, during the last 17 days of the trial. Treatments did not significantly (P > 0.05) affect bird’s other productive parameters and carcass traits. Results from this study suggested that slow-growing Rhode Island Red males may be raised with access to outdoors without any adverse effect on productive performance and carcass quality in the Mexican Tropic. Based on the results of this study, a rearing period of 84 days of age is recommended for Rhode Island Red male chickens raised in both TC and PC production systems.