The effect of varying flock size on the development and subsequent laying performance of floor‐reared pullets

Synopsis

Light‐weight, hybrid pullets were reared on litter in flocks of 400, 800 and 1200 birds per pen. Floor space allowance was held constant at 0–093 m² per bird and other related factors of management were standardised. The different sizes of flock had no significant effect on growth rate or mortality, but individual food consumption was significantly higher in the 400‐bird flocks than in the larger units.

At 18 weeks of age, some of the birds from each treatment were transferred to battery cages and others to deep‐litter laying quarters and records of their performance in terms of egg numbers and size, food consumption, mortality and body weight gain were taken over a period of 1 year. The only consistently significant finding was that birds reared in groups of 1200 tended to produce larger eggs (as shown by market grading) and, when housed on deep litter, to eat more food than birds reared in the smaller flocks.