Brazilian poultry production is prospering, and negative-pressure broiler houses are increasingly used to improve environmental control. One important issue is the color of the side curtains used in such houses due to the influence of colors on broiler behavior. This study aimed at evaluating the influence of different curtain color on the welfare of 7-day-old broilers, considering luminosity and other environmental parameters. Chicks were housed in three different negative-pressure broiler houses either with black (T1), blue (T2), or yellow (T3) side curtains. House environment (luminosity, dry-bulb temperature, air relative humidity, air velocity, and gas emissions) and the behavior of chicks on day 7 after housing were evaluated in three consecutive flocks in the morning and in the afternoon. Data were submitted to multivariate analysis, Kruskal-Wallis' test, and Pearson's correlation test. Luminosity and ITU were influenced by curtain color, and some of the evaluated behaviors were associated with luminosity or other environmental parameter.

This study compared three types of feeders for broilers: Fênix, Tube and Automatic feeders. Bird's feeding behavior and preference were considered in this the evaluation. Preference was assessed by examining birds' behavioral activities, such as eating, standing and lying around the equipments, and meal duration as function of the environmental variables. Data on the behavioral activities and meal size were collected in a broiler commercial farm using a portable video camera, and the direct footages were analyzed. The time spent in each activity, feeding bout duration and time spent near the trough were statistically analyzed using the test of means and medians. Pearson's correlation test was used to evaluate the relationship between ambient environmental data and the time of feeding. A prospective scenario was established and data were pair wised compared to it. There were interactions between environmental characteristics and feeding and lying down activities during the experiment. Eating behavior was more frequent in the area around the Tube feeder. The duration of feeding time was higher when the birds used the Tube feeder (214 ± 28s), followed by the use of the Fênix feeder (123 ± 17s) and the Automatic feeder (77 ± 29s). Birds preferred eating from the Tube feeder probably due to the absence of the partition grid above the feeder plate.