ABSTRACT - This experiment was carried out in two phases to study the effect of different heating systems on the productive and bioeconomical performances in broilers. Five hundred one-day broiler chicks, 50% male and 50% female, in each protected circle, were allotted to a randomized block design with seven treatments and four blocks. The heating systems were: fiber glass plate without plastic sheet cover, fiber glass plate with plastic sheet cover; built-in floor resistance without plastic sheet cover, built-in floor resistance with plastic sheet cover; mortar plate without plastic sheet cover, mortar plate with plastic sheet cover, and brooder heating gas. Heating was maintained up to the 21st days of age, beginning with the temperature of 35ºC in the first week with a reducing of 3ºC by each week. Live weight, weight gain, feed intake, feed:gain ratio and mortality were evaluated. The electric energy and gas expenditures were recorded during all bird heating period in order to compare the different heating systems cost. The heat electric system with mortar structure plate and plastic sheet cover was the most indicated, by promoting good thermal conditions and higher gross margin at the end of the growing period.
broiler; broiler chickens; floor-heating systems; performance
