Effect of water stress on meat chickens

Abstract

In Papua New Guinea, the broiler industry is facing management problems which affect the efficiency of production. One of the most important of these is that some farmers do not understand the importance of water to broiler performance. In areas where the water supply is not close to the chicken shed, farmers tend to provide water at below the required amount. This causes water stress in the chickens and they do not grow as well as when they have free access to water. This work was carried out to measure the effect of water stress on meat chickens and to show the farmers how important water is.