Performance of male broiler chicks exposed to heat from infrared or microwave sources

In eight trials, 240 male broiler birds, initially 7 days old, were randomly allocated to three treatments. Treatments were: continuous infrared (CI), intermittent infrared (II; 4 min on, 2 min off, 10 cycles/h), and intermittent microwaves (IM; 2 min on, 4 min off, 10 cycles/h). At the conclusion of the 14-day experimental period the 21-day-old birds were killed. Although there were significant differences (P less than or equal to .05) in mean gain over the 2-wk treatment period between trials, no differences (P greater than .05) were attributed to treatments. There were, however, significant differences in feed:gain ratios between trials and between treatments. Feed:gain ratios of birds kept under CI and II treatments did not differ significantly (P greater than .05). However, feed:gain ratios, 1.61 +/- .04 and 1.57 +/- .04 for CI and II, respectively, differed significantly (P less than or equal to .05) from that of the IM treatment (1.76 +/- .04). The protein content of chicks under II was significantly (P less than or equal to .05) lower than that of birds under IM. There were no differences (P greater than .05) in fat, ash, calcium, and phosphorus content of chicks among treatments.