Indicators of productive efficiency in conventional vs. technical poultry farms located in the province of Manabí - Ecuador

Abstract

Introduction: In the poultry sector there is a growing need to optimize the technical indexes in meat production on an industrial scale, which has led to the development of management strategies aimed at optimizing the efficiency of these systems and in turn the welfare of broiler chickens. In developing countries such as Ecuador, one alternative to improve production rates is to optimize inputs in the existing infrastructure. Objective: Evaluate production efficiency indicators in conventional vs. technician poultry farms located in the province of Manabí - Ecuador. Methodology: Production records were collected from farms located in central and southern Manabí, which are under the administration of the commercial Avícola Macías. We processed data from 413 mixed flocks of broilers raised in 20 conventional farms with 304 flocks and in three technical poultry farms with 109 flocks, during the production period 2020 to 2022. Results: It was found that conventional farms with flocks < 30,000 chicks tended to have higher final weight, and therefore, higher feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to larger farms, however, the latter showed a higher age at sale (> 55 days). On the other hand, the comparison between a more technified housing system and a conventional one with similar production scales, showed a significant improvement p<0.05 for all indicators in the technified systems except for weight and mortality. Conclusion:  The modernized farms were those that showed the best indicators of productive efficiency, probably due to a set of factors that favor this result, including adequate environmental conditions.