Table 2.
Farm characteristics.
| Farm 1 | Farm 2 cycle 1 | Farm 2 cycle 2 | Farm 3 | Farm 4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start production cycle (visit) | August 2016 | June 2017 | June 2017 | August 2017 | August 2017 | |||||
| Hatchery | Hatchery A | Hatchery B | Hatchery B | Hatchery C | Hatchery D | |||||
| Age of the parent flock (weeks) | 55 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 54 | |||||
| Type of litter | Wood shavings | Peat | Peat | Straw pellets | Straw pellets | |||||
| Feed supplier | Supplier A | Supplier B | Supplier B | Supplier C | Supplier B | |||||
| Poultry house | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Size poultry house (m2) | 1313 | 1313 | 972 | 968 | 972 | 968 | 1600 | 1850 | 1350 | 1730 |
| Flock size | 28 000 | 28 000 | 23 500 | 23 500 | 23 500 | 23 500 | 32 200 | 38 400 | 30 500 | 39 000 |
| Antibiotic treatment | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes (day 3) | No | Yes (day 22) |
The broilers of Farm 2 cycle 1 and 2 are of the same parent flock. Each poultry house contains one broiler flock.