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      Thermotolerance Acquisition in Broiler Chickens by Temperature Conditioning Early in Life—The Effect of Timing and Ambient Temperaturey

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      Poultry Science
      Oxford University Press (OUP)

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          Abstract

          Thermal conditioning of chicks results in improvements in performance and thermotolerance at marketing age. Conditioning has been found to be a sensitive process, dependent on age and the temperature used. The objective of this study was to assess the optimal timing and temperature for the conditioning processes. Six separate trials were conducted on male broiler chickens: the first two aimed to find the optimal age for thermal conditioning (1 to 5 d of age); the other four evaluated the optimal thermal conditioning temperature between 36 and 40.5 C. At 42 d of age chickens were thermally challenged to evaluate their ability to cope with acute heat stress. The highest body weight was achieved when thermal conditioning had been applied at the age of 3 d, and it coincided with low feed intake and higher to significantly higher feed efficiency. These treated chickens showed relatively lower mortality rate under thermal challenge and lower to significantly lower Triiodothyronine (T3) concentration in Trial 2. Chicks that had been thermally conditioned at ambient temperatures (Ta) of 36 and 37.5 C at the age of 3 d demonstrated the best performance characteristics and the ability to reduce T3 concentration to the lowest levels during thermal challenge. It can be suggested, therefore, that a Ta between 36.0 and 37.5 C, applied at 3 d of age is optimum for thermal conditioning of broiler chickens.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Poultry Science
          Poultry Science
          Oxford University Press (OUP)
          00325791
          December 2001
          December 2001
          : 80
          : 12
          : 1662-1666
          Article
          10.1093/ps/80.12.1662
          11771878
          9f65267f-162f-4e82-a208-c711473a6f18
          © 2001

          https://www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/

          http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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