Plastic Flooring as a Bedding Alternative: A Welfare Trade-Off for Broiler Chickens

This study evaluated the behavior and incidence of locomotor disorders in broiler chickens raised on plastic flooring (PF) with and without a nanotechnological antimicrobial additive compared with a conventional system using wood shavings. A total of 1500 male Ross 408 lineage broilers were used, arranged in a completely randomized design with five treatments, wood shavings (WS), PF, PF + WS, plastic flooring with additive (PFA), and PFA + WS, and six replicates. Behavioral and thermographic assessments, body surface, foot and bed temperature, and locomotor health were performed on different days. No effect of bedding type on body temperature was observed; however, birds in the PFA group exhibited lower foot temperatures on Day 8. At 40 days, birds raised exclusively on PF or PFA exhibited longer sitting times, poorer locomotor scores, and a higher incidence of lesions. However, for broilers raised for up to 42 days, the exclusive use of PF resulted in locomotor impairment and aggravated joint lesions, suggesting the need for associations with WS to mitigate such effects.