Combined effects of flooring systems and perch cooling on performance, behavior, and meat quality of broiler chickens under high ambient temperatures

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In a 3 × 2 factorial design, 234 male Ross 308 broilers were reared on plastic-grid flooring, zeolite-amended litter, or wood shavings, with cooled or non-cooled perches. Performance was recorded per pen; meat quality traits were measured individually and analyzed using pen means; behavior was assessed by video-based scan sampling. Flooring type affected body weight only during the early post-placement period, whereas cumulative feed intake was consistently higher in broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring. Feed conversion ratio differed among flooring systems during early growth and over the 0–35 d period, with zeolite-amended litter improving feed efficiency relative to plastic-grid flooring, while wood shavings yielded intermediate responses. Behavioral responses were mainly influenced by flooring type: broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring showed higher locomotor activity and aggression and reduced pecking behavior compared with litter-based systems. Perch cooling selectively reduced observed eating and drinking, whereas most other behaviors were unaffected. Perch cooling significantly influenced water-holding capacity, cooking loss, and breast meat lightness, while flooring type affected ultimate pH, with a significant flooring by perch cooling interaction. Overall, the findings indicate that flooring systems and perch cooling influence broiler chickens through largely independent yet complementary pathways, with flooring primarily shaping behavioral organization and feed utilization, and perch cooling selectively modulating postmortem meat quality and the temporal organization of ingestive behavior under high ambient temperature conditions. Broiler chickens flooring systems perch cooling behavior feed efficiency meat quality high ambient temperature Introduction Intensive genetic selection in modern broiler chickens has resulted in substantial improvements in growth rate, feed efficiency, and carcass yield. However, the successful expression of this genetic potential is highly dependent on housing and environmental conditions. In intensive production systems, housing-related factors influence not only productive performance but also behavioral expression, physiological regulation, and meat quality. When environmental stressors interact with the elevated metabolic demands of fast-growing broiler genotypes, suboptimal housing conditions may compromise both production efficiency and animal welfare (Butterworth 2021 ; Nicol et al. 2024 ). Modern broiler strains are particularly sensitive to environmental challenges, as rapid growth and high metabolic heat production increase susceptibility to stress-related behavioral and physiological disturbances. This sensitivity becomes more pronounced under hot environmental conditions, where increased thermal load alters activity patterns, reduces performance, and negatively affects welfare status (Nawaz et al. 2021 ; Oke 2024). Among housing components, flooring systems and litter management play a central role in shaping the broiler microenvironment. Conventional litter-based systems remain widely used; however, maintaining adequate litter quality is especially challenging in hot and humid climates. Elevated ambient temperature and moisture accumulation accelerate litter degradation and ammonia release, which have been associated with impaired growth, increased incidence of contact dermatitis, and altered behavior indicative of reduced welfare (Bist et al. 2022; Fiorilla et al. 2023 ). To mitigate litter-related problems, alternative flooring systems such as plastic-grid and slatted floors have gained attention due to their potential to reduce contact with moist litter and improve hygienic conditions. While these systems may enhance litter dryness and integument health under intensive and hot rearing conditions (Kaukonen et al. 2017 ; Martrenchar et al. 2022), concerns have been raised regarding their effects on behavior expression. Restricted access to manipulable substrates may limit natural behaviors and modify locomotor activity and social interactions, highlighting the need for integrated evaluations that consider productivity, behavior, and welfare outcomes simultaneously (Brassó et al. 2025 ; Neethirajan 2025 ). Thermal management represents an additional major challenge in broiler production. Exposure to high ambient temperatures is widely recognized as a key environmental stressor, negatively affecting feed intake, growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality, while eliciting pronounced thermoregulatory behaviors (Apalowo et al. 2024 ; Silva et al. 2025 ). In this context, environmental enrichment strategies such as perches have been proposed to support activity and spatial use, and more recently, cooled perches have been introduced as a form of thermal enrichment aimed at facilitating heat dissipation. Although perch cooling has been shown to influence thermal comfort and behavior, its effects on growth performance and meat quality remain inconsistent across studies (Hu et al. 2021 ; Nazareno et al. 2024 ; Tarmooz et al. 2025 ; Zago-Dias et al. 2025 ). Notably, most previous studies have examined flooring systems and thermal management strategies independently. Research on alternative flooring has primarily focused on hygienic or behavioral outcomes without incorporating targeted thermal enrichment, whereas studies on thermal management have rarely accounted for flooring type as a modifying factor (Idrus et al. 2021 ; Sesay 2022 ; Przybulinski et al. 2025 ). Consequently, information on the combined effects of flooring systems and perch cooling on growth performance, meat quality, and behavior remains limited, particularly under high ambient temperature conditions. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the combined effects of flooring type (plastic-grid floor, zeolite-amended litter, and wood shavings) and perch cooling on growth performance, meat quality traits, and behavioral patterns of broiler chickens reared under naturally occurring high ambient temperature conditions using a factorial design. It was hypothesized that flooring type would primarily influence growth-related responses and behavioral organization, whereas perch cooling would exert selective effects on meat quality traits and feeding- and drinking-related behaviors, with potential interactions reflected in specific postmortem parameters rather than overall growth performance. Materials and Methods Animals and experimental design In this study, 234 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery (EGE-TAV Agriculture and Livestock Investment Trade and Industry Inc., Izmir, Türkiye) and randomly allocated to 18 floor pens according to a 3 × 2 factorial experimental design. Treatments consisted of three flooring types plastic-grid floor (PF), zeolite-amended litter (Z), and wood shavings (WS); and two perch conditions perch cooling (PC) or no perch cooling (NC). Each treatment combination was replicated three times, with 13 birds per pen. The experiment was conducted at the Poultry Research Unit of Aydın Adnan Menderes University. In litter-based treatments, pine wood shavings were applied at a depth of 5 cm. For the zeolite treatment, natural clinoptilolite zeolite was thoroughly mixed with wood shavings at 6 kg/m², a level previously applied in broiler litter systems due to its moisture- and ammonia-binding capacity and suitability for commercial conditions (Kaya et al. 2024 ). The resulting litter depth was adjusted to approximately 5 cm. This approach aimed to improve litter quality while reducing direct contact between birds and the underlying floor surface. In the PF treatment, plastic slatted panels (50 × 50 cm) with a height of 5 cm and mesh openings of 2 × 2 cm were used. Galvanized steel perches (110 cm length, 30 mm diameter) were installed horizontally at a height of 15 cm above the pen floor and positioned to ensure that birds crossed the perch when accessing feed and water. Perch allowance was standardized at 8.46 cm per bird across treatments. In PC pens, a commercial water-cooling system (Cihso 2000, 2.5 hp) circulated chilled water (5000 mL/min) through the perches, maintaining a water temperature of 10°C. Although perches were installed from day 1, cooling was initiated from day 14 to coincide with increased body mass and thermal load. Water temperature in cooled perches was monitored twice daily. Housing and general management Broiler chickens were housed in floor pens under controlled environmental conditions. Each replicate group was maintained in a pen measuring 1.1 m × 1.5 m × 0.75 m, providing approximately 1 m² of usable floor area per pen. Stocking density was set at 33 kg/m² in accordance with EU regulations (EU 2007 ). Each pen was equipped with one round feeder (0.4 m diameter), providing 9.66 cm feeder space per bird, and one nipple drinker line with three nipples (4.33 birds per nipple). Diets were formulated according to the nutritional recommendations for Ross 308 broilers (Aviagen 2019 ). Birds received a three-phase feeding program consisting of a pre-starter diet (3,000 kcal/kg metabolizable energy; 23% crude protein) from day 0 to 10, a starter diet (3,100 kcal/kg; 21.5% crude protein) from day 11 to 24, and a finisher diet (3,200 kcal/kg; 19.5% crude protein) from day 25 to 42 (Table 1 ). Feed and water were provided ad libitum throughout the experiment. Table 1 Composition of diets during the experiment Ingredients (g/kg) Pre-starter (0–10 d) Starter (11–24 d) Finisher (25–42 d) Maize 503 533 568 Soybean meal 398 362 320 Vegetable oil 30.0 40.0 50.0 Wheat bran 27.0 27.0 27.0 Limestone 12.7 12.1 11.3 Dicalcium phosphate 19.2 16.7 14.8 DL-Methionine 2.10 1.70 1.50 L-Lysine 1.30 0.70 0.50 Sodium chloride 3.50 3.50 3.50 Vitamin-mineral premix 1 2.50 2.50 2.50 Calculated nutrient composition Metabolizable energy (kcal/kg) 3000 3101 3204 Crude protein, CP 230 215 195 Calcium, Ca 9.60 8.70 7.90 Phosphorus, P 7.60 7.00 6.50 Available phosphorus 4.80 4.30 3.90 Methionine 5.60 5.10 4.70 Lysine 14.4 12.9 11.6 1 : Vitamin-mineral premix contains the following for per kg diet: vitamin A 12.000 IU; vitamin D3 1500 IU; vitamin E 30 mg; vitamin K3 5 mg; vitamin B1 3 mg; vitamin B2 6 mg; vitamin B6 5 mg; vitamin B12 0.03 mg; niacin 40 mg; pantothenic acid 10 mg; folic acid, 0.75 mg; d-biotin, 0.075 mg; choline chloride, 375 mg; manganese, 80 mg; iron, 40 mg; zinc, 60 mg; copper, 5 mg; iodine, 0.4 mg; cobalt, 0.1 mg; selenium, 0.15 mg; and antioxidant, 10 mg. Lighting management followed European Union Council Directive standards (EU 2007 ). A 23L:1D lighting schedule was applied during the first seven days and the final four days before slaughter (days 39–42), while an 18L:6D photoperiod was used during the remaining period. The experiment was conducted during the summer under naturally occurring high ambient temperature conditions. Ambient temperature and relative humidity were monitored using data loggers placed at three central locations in each pen at bird eye level (10–30 cm above the floor) and adjusted as birds grew. Environmental data were recorded twice daily. The loggers had a temperature resolution of 0.1°C and a relative humidity resolution of 1%. Average ambient temperatures were approximately 28.3°C at night and 29.2°C at midday, with relative humidity ranging from 56.3% to 56.6%, consistent with values previously reported under identical conditions. Despite the use of automated ventilation fans, ambient temperatures could not be reduced to levels recommended in Ross 308 management guidelines (Aviagen 2018 ), resulting in chronic exposure of birds to elevated ambient temperatures throughout the experimental period. Data collection Growth performance Broilers were weighed individually at placement and thereafter at weekly intervals until 6 weeks of age to determine body weight (BW) and monitor growth performance. For statistical evaluation, individual BW values were summarized as weekly pen means. Feed intake (FI) was recorded on a pen-weekly basis by weighing the feed offered at the beginning of each week and subtracting the residual feed at the end of the corresponding week. Cumulative FI was calculated from day 0 to each sampling point. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated on a pen basis as cumulative feed intake divided by cumulative body weight gain over the respective period. Mortality was recorded daily, and cumulative mortality rates were calculated and expressed on a pen basis. Meat quality traits On day 42, a total of 126 broilers (7 birds per pen) were randomly selected for meat quality evaluations, with all pens contributing equally; the pen was considered the experimental unit for statistical analysis. Birds were fasted for 12 h prior to slaughter and individually weighed. Slaughter was performed in the experimental processing unit by severing the jugular vein, followed by scalding (53°C for 150 s), mechanical plucking (35 s), and manual evisceration. Breast muscle samples ( M. pectoralis major ) were excised for subsequent analyses. Breast meat pH was measured at 15 min (pH 15 ) and 24 h (pH U ) postmortem on the right pectoral muscle using a portable digital pH meter (Hanna Instruments HI 9124) equipped with a penetration electrode (Hanna FC-200). Measurements were taken at three locations per fillet, and the pH meter was calibrated using standard buffer solutions (pH 4.00 and 6.96). Meat color was assessed at 24 h postmortem on the skinless surface of the left breast muscle according to the CIE Lab color system (Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage 1978 ), recording lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) using a CR-400 Minolta colorimeter (Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc., Osaka, Japan). Cooking loss (CL) was determined at 24 h postmortem following Honikel ( 1998 ). Samples were weighed, cooked in a water bath until an internal temperature of 75°C was reached, cooled for 15 min, and reweighed; CL was expressed as the percentage of weight loss. Water-holding capacity (WHC) was assessed at 24 h postmortem using the method of Barton-Gade et al. ( 1993 ), by applying a 2250 g weight for 5 min and calculating weight loss as a percentage of the initial sample weight. Behavioral traits Broiler behavior was assessed using a video-based monitoring system between 22 and 42 days of age. Cameras (ICU, B400) were mounted above each pen to provide continuous 24-h recordings with an unobstructed view of pen activity. Behavioral data were obtained from video recordings at two fixed daily time points (10:00 and 15:00) using an instantaneous scan sampling method (Estevez et al. 2002 ). Thirteen predefined behavioral traits were evaluated (Table 2 ; Ventura et al. 2012 ; Panel et al. 2023 ). At each observation time, behaviors were assessed sequentially using separate 3-min video segments, resulting in 39 min of analyzed footage per pen per time point (13 behaviors × 3 min) and a total of 78 min per pen per day. Table 2 Ethogram of recorded broiler chicken behaviors Resting behaviors Lying down The bird rests with its body fully supported by the litter and shows little or no voluntary movement. Idle The bird remains awake but inactive, standing or sitting without performing other behaviors. Locomotor behaviors Walking Slow to moderate locomotion within the pen through alternating leg movements. Running Rapid locomotion is characterized by quick successive steps, often indicating elevated activity. Pecking Repetitive non-ingestive beak contact with litter or pen structures. Wing Flapping Repeated opening and closing of the wings while standing or moving, not associated with aggression. Comfort behaviors Preening Self-grooming behavior involves feather cleaning and alignment using the beak. Dust bathing A sequence of behaviors including lowering the body, rolling, and wing movements to distribute litter over feathers. Stretching Brief extension of wings, legs, or neck, typically following inactivity or posture change. Ingestive behaviors Feeding Pecking at feed followed by visible ingestion and swallowing movements. Drinking Beak contact with the drinker followed by head elevation and swallowing. Social / negative behaviors Aggression Directed agonistic interactions toward specifics, such as pecking or chasing. Disturbed A short-lasting interruption of ongoing behavior triggered by an external stimulus, expressed without locomotion or aggression. Behavioral definitions were adapted from published broiler ethograms and instantaneous scan-sampling protocols (Ventura et al. 2012 ), with behavioral classification aligned with established welfare frameworks that include comfort- and disturbance-related behaviors (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare, 2023). During each scan, the number of birds performing a given behavior was recorded instantaneously. As observations were repeated across behaviors and time points, individual birds could be recorded more than once within the same day. For each pen, behavioral data were expressed as the proportion of birds exhibiting each behavior relative to the total number of birds in the pen. Behavioral observations across all sampling days were averaged to obtain a single pen-level mean for each behavioral trait. The pen was considered the experimental unit for all behavioral analyses (Zhao et al. 2013 ). Statistical analysis All data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 22.0; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Normality and homogeneity of variances were assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk or Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests and Levene’s test, respectively. For growth performance traits, body weight (BW) was recorded individually but averaged weekly within pen to avoid pseudoreplication; thus, the pen was considered the experimental unit. Feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated and analyzed on a pen basis. Weekly BW, FI, and FCR data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) within the General Linear Model (GLM), including flooring type, perch cooling condition, and their interaction as fixed effects. Meat quality traits were measured on individual birds, averaged within pen, and analyzed using the same two-way ANOVA model, with the pen as the experimental unit. Behavioral data were expressed at the pen level as the proportion of birds exhibiting each behavior. Initial two-way ANOVA models including flooring type, perch cooling, and their interaction were explored; however, interaction effects were inconsistent and associated with negligible effect sizes across behavioral traits. Therefore, flooring type was analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests, whereas perch cooling effects were assessed using independent-samples t-tests. Behavioral proportional data did not approach boundary values, allowing the use of parametric tests. The statistical model applied for growth performance and meat quality traits was: Yijk = µ + α i + β j +(αβ) ij +E ijk where; Y ijk = represents the observed response variable, µ = overall mean, α i = the effect of floor type (PF, Z, and WS), β j = the effect of perch cooling condition (PC and NC), (αβ) ij = the interaction between main effects, and E ijk = the residual error term. Differences were considered statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05, and Bonferroni-adjusted multiple comparisons were applied when appropriate. Results Growth performance Body weight (BW) data are presented in Table 3 . Flooring type significantly affected BW at 7 d of age (P < 0.05), with higher BW observed in broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring compared with wood shavings, while zeolite-amended litter showed intermediate values. From 14 d onwards, no differences in BW were observed among flooring types. A difference in BW was detected at 7 d between groups later assigned to perch cooling treatments (P < 0.01); however, no differences were observed at subsequent ages. No flooring type × perch cooling interactions were detected for BW at any age. Table 3 Body weight (g) of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions 1,2,3,4 Factors 7 d 14 d 21 d 28 d 35 d 42 d Exp. Mean(g) 147.11 353.23 645.36 1046.87 1523.05 1932.38 Flooring types Plastic-grid (PF) 150.94 a 349.03 657.62 1057.01 1517.37 1930.87 Zeolite (Z) 146.22 ab 351.09 632.96 1016.02 1493.20 1897.05 Wood shavings (WS) 144.16 b 355.05 645.51 1067.10 1557.91 1968.24 Perch cooling Yes (PC) 150.73 354.25 645.89 1038.71 1520.62 1947.66 No (NC) 143.48 349.19 644.84 1054.71 1525.32 1916.44 SEM 2.69 9.10 18.44 34.14 50.15 60.31 Flooring types x Perch Cooling PF x PC 154.28 352.09 668.65 1059.00 1532.62 1975.31 Z x PC 148.78 355.58 633.78 1022.67 1510.59 1936.28 WS x PC 149.13 355.09 635.23 1034.46 1517.82 1931.40 PF x NC 147.58 345.96 646.59 1055.03 1502.13 1886.44 Z x NC 143.67 346.59 632.15 1009.37 1475.82 1857.82 WS x NC 139.20 355.01 655.79 1099.74 1598.00 2005.08 P Values Flooring types 0.037 0.798 0.410 0.290 0.433 0.504 Perch cooling 0.001 0.496 0.945 0.567 0.904 0.529 Flooring types x Perch cooling 0.658 0.883 0.514 0.456 0.435 0.326 1 Body weight was measured individually, and weekly pen means were used for statistical analyzes. 2 Values are presented as pen-level means (n = 6 pens per flooring type; n = 9 pens per perch cooling condition). 3 Mean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected. 4 Different superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P < 0.05). Cumulative feed intake (FI) is shown in Table 4 . Flooring type significantly affected cumulative FI across all periods (P < 0.05), with broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring consistently showing higher FI than those reared on zeolite-amended litter or wood shavings. Perch cooling had no effect on FI, and no interaction effects were observed. Table 4 Cumulative feed intake (g) of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions 1,2,3,4 Factors 0–7 d 0–14 d 0–21 d 0–28 d 0–35 d 0–42 d Exp. Mean(g) 119.79 491.57 926.85 1571.31 2433.56 3191.85 Flooring types Plastic-grid (PF) 128.89 a 517.95 a 991.81 a 1674.60 a 2534.86 a 3356.44 a Zeolite (Z) 116.77 b 482.27 b 901.01 b 1481.94 b 2585.14 b 3035.51 b Wood shavings (WS) 113.78 b 475.10 b 886.17 b 1557.68 b 2398.71 ab 3181.30 b Perch cooling Yes (PC) 123.23 497.28 939.21 1568.90 2407.36 3215.03 No (NC) 116.39 486.27 913.44 1573.92 2405.11 3167.13 SEM 5.11 13.29 32.28 57.97 86.56 111.69 Flooring types x Perch Cooling PF x PC 133.33 524.90 1036.51 1682.44 2567.05 3456.64 Z x PC 116.82 467.77 881.64 1472.21 2281.18 3064.72 WS x PC 119.54 499.15 899.49 1552.05 2373.85 3123.74 PF x NC 124.44 511.00 947.10 1666.77 2502.67 3256.23 Z x NC 116.72 496.77 920.39 1491.67 2289.10 3006.31 WS x NC 108.03 451.05 872.85 1563.31 2423.56 3238.85 P Values Flooring types 0.028 0.016 0.014 0.019 0.042 0.043 Perch cooling 0.127 0.331 0.348 0.917 0.975 0.609 Flooring types x Perch cooling 0.523 0.410 0.182 0.951 0.804 0.396 1 Cumulative feed intake was recorded at the pen level, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes. 2 Values are presented as pen-level means (n = 6 pens per flooring type; n = 9 pens per perch cooling condition). 3 Mean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected. 4 Different superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P < 0.05). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) values are summarized in Table 5 . Flooring type significantly affected FCR during the early rearing period (0–7 d and 0–14 d) and over the 0–35 d period (P < 0.01), with lower FCR values observed in broilers reared on zeolite-amended litter compared with plastic-grid flooring, while wood shavings yielded intermediate responses. Perch cooling had no effect on FCR, and no flooring type × perch cooling interactions were detected. Table 5 Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions 1,2,3,4 Factors 0–7 d 0–14 d 0–21 d 0–28 d 0–35 d 0–42 d Exp. Mean 1.17 1.81 1.48 1.63 1.78 1.93 Flooring types Plastic-grid (PF) 1.22 a 1.97 a 1.54 1.72 1.87 a 2.00 Zeolite (Z) 1.15 b 1.79 b 1.49 1.58 1.71 b 1.88 Wood shavings (WS) 1.15 b 1.69 b 1.44 1.60 1.79 ab 1.94 Perch cooling Yes (PC) 1.17 1.82 1.53 1.60 1.79 1.91 No (NC) 1.18 1.80 1.45 1.66 1.78 1.96 SEM 0.016 0.073 0.074 0.070 0.040 0.081 Flooring types x Perch Cooling PF x PC 1.23 1.99 1.63 1.66 1.87 2.03 Z x PC 1.13 1.70 1.50 1.52 1.66 1.84 WS x PC 1.15 1.78 1.47 1.63 1.85 1.86 PF x NC 1.21 1.95 1.45 1.77 1.87 1.96 Z x NC 1.18 1.87 1.48 1.64 1.75 1.93 WS x NC 1.14 1.59 1.40 1.56 1.73 2.01 P Values Flooring types 0.001 0.007 0.375 0.144 0.007 0.403 Perch cooling 0.472 0.757 0.184 0.378 0.739 0.445 Flooring types x Perch cooling 0.116 0.079 0.566 0.331 0.065 0.409 1 Feed conversion ratio was calculated on a pen basis using cumulative feed intake and body weight gain, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes. 2 Values are presented as pen-level means (n = 6 pens per flooring type; n = 9 pens per perch cooling condition). 3 Mean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected. 4 Different superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P < 0.05). Overall mortality was low (0.85%) and was not subjected to statistical analysis due to the absence of treatment-related patterns. Meat quality traits Breast meat quality traits are presented in Table 6 . Flooring type did not significantly affect water-holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), or early postmortem pH (pH15). Ultimate pH (pHU) was significantly affected by flooring type (P < 0.05), whereas no significant effects were observed for color parameters. Table 6 Meat quality traits of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions 1,2,3,4 Factors WHC CL L* a* b* pH 15 pH U Exp. Mean 9.25 33.12 57.60 3.05 14.53 6.02 5.48 Flooring types Plastic-grid (PF) 9.15 32.86 58.45 2.98 15.09 6.02 5.46 b Zeolite (Z) 8.70 33.57 57.56 3.29 14.61 6.00 5.45 ab Wood shavings (WS) 9.90 32.94 56.81 2.89 13.91 6.06 5.52 a Perch cooling Yes (PC) 10.05 35.80 58.63 2.92 14.91 6.00 5.46 No (NC) 8.46 30.44 56.58 3.19 14.16 6.05 5.50 SEM 0.67 1.44 0.67 0.30 0.55 0.35 0.32 Flooring types x Perch cooling PF x PC 10.42 36.07 59.01 2.96 15.59 5.99 5.44 b Z x PC 9.66 36.48 58.65 2.77 14.40 5.98 5.48 ab WS x PC 10.06 34.85 58.24 3.02 14.74 6.03 5.45 b PF x NC 7.88 29.65 57.90 3.30 14.59 6.04 5.48 ab Z x NC 7.74 30.66 56.47 3.81 14.82 6.02 5.42 b WS x NC 9.75 31.04 55.37 2.75 13.08 6.09 5.59 a P Values Flooring types 0.196 0.865 0.054 0.378 0.097 0.229 0.035 Perch cooling 0.004 0.001 0.001 0.269 0.096 0.114 0.087 Flooring types x Perch cooling 0.232 0.639 0.422 0.078 0.154 0.982 0.004 1 Meat quality traits were measured individually, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes. 2 Values are presented as pen-level means (n = 6 pens per flooring type; n = 9 pens per perch cooling condition). 3 Mean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected. 4 Different superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P < 0.05). Perch cooling significantly affected WHC, CL, and breast meat lightness (L*) (P < 0.01), while no effects were detected for a*, b*, pH15, or pHU. A significant flooring type × perch cooling interaction was observed for pHU (P < 0.01), with no interaction effects detected for the remaining meat quality traits. Behavioral traits Behavioral outcomes are summarized in Table 7 . Flooring type significantly affected several behavioral traits. Broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring showed higher proportions of walking, wing flapping, aggression, eating, and drinking compared with those reared on zeolite-amended litter and wood shavings (P < 0.05), whereas pecking behavior was lower in this group (P < 0.05). Table 7 Effects of flooring types and perch cooling on selected behavioral patterns of broilers during weeks 3–6 (%) 1,2,3,4 Factors Flooring types Perch cooling Wood shavings (WS) Zeolite (Z) Plastic-grid (PF) P Values No Yes P Values Lying down 8.3 ± 0.5 9.1 ± 0.4 9.1 ± 0.5 0.202 8.5 ± 0.4 9.1 ± 0.4 0.822 Idle 18.5 ± 0.5 18.9 ± 0.4 19.3 ± 0.5 0.226 19.2 ± 0.4 18.6 ± 0.4 0.226 Walking 12.6 ± 0.4 a 11.9 ± 0.3 b 13.3 ± 0.4 a 0.019 12.5 ± 0.3 12.7 ± 0.3 0.802 Running 4.3 ± 0.2 3.6 ± 0.2 4.0 ± 0.2 0.072 4.1 ± 0.2 3.8 ± 0.2 0.147 Pecking 14.2 ± 0.3 a 15.0 ± 0.3 a 13.1 ± 0.3 b 0.001 14.2 ± 0.3 14.0 ± 0.3 0.900 Flapping 3.9 ± 0.3 b 4.5 ± 0.2 b 5.5 ± 0.2 a 0.003 4.5 ± 0.2 4.7 ± 0.2 0.662 Preening 8.6 ± 0.3 8.8 ± 0.2 8.5 ± 0.3 0.495 8.7 ± 0.2 8.6 ± 0.2 0.448 Dust bathing 9.0 ± 0.3 9.3 ± 0.3 7.6 ± 0.2 0.494 8.4 ± 0.1 8.9 ± 0.8 0.075 Stretching 5.0 ± 0.2 a 4.6 ± 0.2 b 5.2 ± 0.2 a 0.034 5.1 ± 0.2 4.8 ± 0.2 0.092 Eating 9.6 ± 0.3 a 8.4 ± 0.3 b 9.8 ± 0.3 a 0.002 9.8 ± 0.3 8.7 ± 0.3 0.010 Drinking 7.5 ± 0.3 b 7.3 ± 0.3 b 8.0 ± 0.3 a 0.043 8.1 ± 0.2 7.1 ± 0.2 0.040 Aggression 3.4 ± 0.4 c 3.8 ± 0.4 b 4.3 ± 0.4 a 0.049 3.7 ± 0.3 3.8 ± 0.3 0.678 Disturbed 5.4 ± 0.2 5.6 ± 0.2 5.5 ± 0.2 0.534 5.6 ± 0.2 5.4 ± 0.1 0.827 1 Behavioral traits were expressed as the proportion of birds per pen based on video observations, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes. 2 Values are presented as pen-level means (n = 6 pens per flooring type; n = 9 pens per perch cooling condition). 3 Mean separation among flooring type or perch cooling groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected. 4 Means within the same row and factor with different superscript letters differ significantly (P < 0.05); P values indicate the main effects of flooring type and perch cooling. Perch cooling significantly affected eating and drinking behaviors, with lower proportions observed in broilers housed with perch cooling compared with those housed without perch cooling (P < 0.05). No significant effects of perch cooling were detected for the remaining behavioral traits. Discussion Overall, the results indicate that flooring type and perch cooling influenced broiler chickens through largely distinct but complementary mechanisms under high ambient temperature conditions. Flooring systems primarily affected behavioral organization and feed utilization, whereas perch cooling exerted selective effects on postmortem muscle characteristics and ingestive behavior. The limited number of interaction effects further supports the view that structural housing components and thermal interventions operate as functionally independent management tools when optimizing productivity, welfare, and meat quality in heat-challenged broiler systems. Growth performance In the present study, flooring type influenced body weight only during the early post-placement period, with higher BW at 7 d observed in broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring compared with those housed on wood shavings, while zeolite-amended litter produced intermediate values. The absence of flooring-related BW differences from 14 d onwards suggests that these effects were transient and associated with early adaptation to the housing environment rather than sustained alterations in growth potential. Similar short-lived or inconsistent effects of alternative flooring systems on early BW have been reported previously (Topal and Petek 2021 ; Honig et al. 2024 ). Early BW differences may reflect variation in footing stability, microclimatic conditions at chick level, or early behavioral activity, which are particularly relevant during the first week of life when thermoregulation and locomotor control are still developing. As broilers age, declining activity levels and increasing metabolic constraints associated with rapid growth likely reduce the relative influence of flooring characteristics on BW expression (Hartcher and Lum 2020 ), explaining the convergence observed after 14 d. Although a difference in BW was detected at 7 d between groups later assigned to perch cooling treatments, cooling was initiated from day 14 onwards, indicating that this early difference was incidental rather than treatment-related. This interpretation is supported by the absence of perch cooling effects on BW, cumulative feed intake, or feed conversion ratio after cooling commenced. Flooring type consistently influenced cumulative feed intake throughout the experimental period and affected feed conversion ratio during early growth and at 35 d. Broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring consumed more feed but showed poorer feed efficiency than those housed on zeolite-amended litter, with wood shavings yielding intermediate responses. This pattern suggests differences in energy utilization rather than growth capacity per se. Behavioral findings provide a plausible explanation for these performance-related outcomes. Broilers housed on plastic-grid flooring exhibited higher levels of walking, wing flapping, and aggression, together with altered pecking behavior, consistent with increased locomotor activity and social disturbance. Similar associations between elevated activity, altered behavior, and reduced feed efficiency have been reported in broilers reared on slatted or alternative flooring systems (Topal and Petek 2021 ; Honig et al. 2024 ). Increased activity and social interactions may divert metabolizable energy away from growth toward non-productive processes, thereby reducing feed efficiency (Baxter et al. 2019 ; Abeyesinghe et al. 2021 ). In addition to activity-related mechanisms, housing characteristics such as surface hardness, grip, and the absence of manipulable substrates may influence comfort and movement patterns, potentially promoting discomfort-related behaviors or behavioral redirection. Restricted access to litter has been shown to limit substrate-directed behaviors and modify social interactions in broilers (Bailie et al. 2013 ; Lourenço da Silva et al. 2021 ). Although these factors were not directly measured, they represent plausible complementary mechanisms underlying the combined behavioral and feed efficiency responses observed on plastic-grid flooring. Meat quality traits Regarding meat quality, flooring type exerted only limited effects, whereas perch cooling significantly influenced several parameters, including water-holding capacity, cooking loss, and breast meat lightness. Neither flooring type nor perch cooling affected early postmortem pH, while ultimate pH was influenced by flooring type and its interaction with perch cooling. This pattern indicates that postmortem muscle characteristics were relatively insensitive to acute pre-slaughter stress responses, as reflected by the stability of early postmortem pH, but were responsive to longer-term housing- and thermal-environmental factors and their combined effects during rearing. The concurrent increase in water-holding capacity and cooking loss observed with perch cooling is not contradictory, as these traits reflect distinct and partially independent aspects of muscle water dynamics. Water-holding capacity primarily represents the ability of myofibrillar proteins to retain intracellular and intermyofibrillar water under low external forces, whereas cooking loss is largely determined by heat-induced protein denaturation, fibre shrinkage, and structural reorganization during thermal processing. Classic meat science literature has long demonstrated that these parameters do not necessarily change in parallel (Allen et al. 1998 ), and recent reviews further emphasise that chronic thermal load or its alleviation may modify protein functionality and muscle structure without inducing acute stress-related quality defects (Prates 2025 ). The absence of differences in early postmortem pH further supports the interpretation that the observed effects of perch cooling on water-holding capacity and cooking loss were unlikely to be driven by acute stress immediately prior to slaughter. Instead, these responses are more plausibly associated with gradual modifications in muscle metabolism, ultrastructure, and protein hydration properties under conditions of improved thermal comfort during rearing. Contemporary experimental studies investigating cooling-based environmental enrichments similarly report alterations in selected meat quality traits in the absence of marked changes in early postmortem pH, suggesting that such interventions primarily act through cumulative physiological adaptations rather than acute stress pathways (Khalfi et al. 2024 ). Perch cooling also increased breast meat lightness, whereas the effects of flooring type on color parameters remained marginal. When pH values are maintained within physiological ranges, increases in lightness are more plausibly attributed to changes in muscle hydration status and surface reflectance properties rather than to the development of PSE-like conditions. Both classical and recent literature indicate that modifications in water distribution and muscle microstructure can increase light scattering at the meat surface, resulting in paler breast meat without compromising overall meat quality (Petracci and Cavani 2011 ). The significant interaction between flooring type and perch cooling observed for ultimate pH further suggests that postmortem biochemical processes may be shaped by the combined influence of housing conditions and activity- or behavior-related differences during rearing. Recent housing-system comparisons indicate that flooring design can indirectly influence muscle metabolism through effects on locomotor activity, resting behavior, and energy expenditure, while thermal interventions may modulate these responses by alleviating heat load (Honig et al. 2024 ). Although these mechanisms were not directly quantified in the present study, the interaction effect observed here supports the notion that flooring system and thermal enrichment may jointly modulate postmortem muscle characteristics, even in the absence of pronounced differences in overall growth performance. Behavioral traits Behavioral analysis indicated that flooring type exerted a stronger influence on the behavioral organization of broiler chickens than perch cooling, whereas perch cooling showed more selective, behavior-specific effects. Broilers housed on plastic-grid flooring exhibited higher proportions of walking and wing flapping, increased aggressive interactions, and reduced pecking behavior (Table 7 ). Locomotor behaviors such as walking and wing flapping are widely recognized as sensitive animal-based indicators reflecting housing structure, surface characteristics, and movement costs in broilers (Dawkins 2004 ; Bokkers and Koene 2003 ; Panel et al. 2023 ). The elevated expression of these behaviors under plastic-grid flooring suggests a more active but potentially less stable behavioral organization, as increased activity may also be associated with higher social tension and energy expenditure (Bailie and O’Connell 2014 ). Flooring type also affected ingestive behaviors, with higher instantaneous proportions of eating and drinking observed on plastic-grid flooring, consistent with the higher cumulative feed intake recorded for this treatment. However, behavioral time budgets reflect the organization of activity rather than intake efficiency per se. Previous behavioral and energetic models indicate that increased locomotor activity and altered spatial use can lead to more frequent feeder and drinker visits without improvements in feed efficiency, particularly when maintenance energy costs increase (Dawkins et al. 2012; Cartoni Mancinelli et al. 2023 ). In contrast, perch cooling exerted limited effects on overall behavioral expression, affecting only eating and drinking behaviors. Birds housed with perch cooling showed lower observed proportions of ingestive behavior during scan sampling, while other behaviors remained unchanged. This pattern should not be interpreted as reduced feed intake, as scan sampling captures behavior at discrete time points rather than total duration or daily intake. Methodological studies demonstrate that scan sampling outcomes are sensitive to observation timing and behavior frequency, with short-duration or temporally clustered behaviors being prone to underestimation (Altmann 1996 ). Under chronic heat exposure, broilers also reorganize ingestive activity toward cooler periods, redistributing feeding and drinking rather than suppressing motivation (Hartcher and Lum 2020 ). Accordingly, the observed reduction in ingestive behavior with perch cooling likely reflects a temporal reorganization associated with improved thermal comfort. Dust bathing behavior was not affected by flooring type or perch cooling. This finding should be interpreted cautiously, as dust bathing is episodic, context-dependent, and sensitive to ambient temperature and recording methodology. Under chronically high temperatures, its expression may be reduced or absent even in healthy flocks, and scan sampling may underestimate its occurrence (Panel et al. 2023 ). The behavioral results indicate that plastic-grid flooring promoted a more active behavioral organization characterized by increased locomotion, social interactions, and ingestive behavior without sustained benefits for growth performance. In contrast, perch cooling functioned as a targeted thermal intervention that modified the temporal organization of ingestive behavior without broadly altering locomotor or social activity. These findings highlight the importance of interpreting behavioral responses alongside performance and meat quality outcomes when evaluating housing interventions under high ambient temperature conditions. Overall, the findings indicate that flooring systems and perch cooling affect broiler chickens through largely independent yet complementary pathways under high ambient temperature conditions. Flooring type primarily influenced behavioral organization and feed utilization, as evidenced by differences in locomotor activity, social interactions, cumulative feed intake, and feed efficiency, without causing sustained changes in growth performance. In contrast, perch cooling acted as a targeted thermal intervention, selectively modifying postmortem meat quality traits and the temporal organization of ingestive behavior rather than broadly enhancing growth. The limited interaction effects observed further suggest that structural housing components and thermal enrichment should be viewed as complementary, rather than interchangeable, management approaches for balancing productivity, welfare, and product quality in heat-challenged broiler production systems. Declarations Ethics approval and animal welfare: All experimental procedures involving animals were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards and animal welfare regulations of Aydın Adnan Menderes University. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Aydın Adnan Menderes University (Approval No. 64583101/2021/093). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Availability of data and materials: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Funding: This research was supported by the Directorate of Scientific Research Projects of Aydın Adnan Menderes University (BAP Project No. VTF-22008). Authors’ contributions: MK conceptualized and designed the study, obtained funding, coordinated the research, and collected the data. MK drafted the initial version of the manuscript. SK and MKT critically reviewed and revised the manuscript. MK prepared the final version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the Poultry Research Unit of Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Türkiye, for providing the facilities and support necessary to conduct this study. References Abeyesinghe SM, Chancellor NM, Moore DH, Chang YM, Pearce J, Demmers T, Nicol CJ (2021) Associations between behavior and health outcomes in conventional and slow-growing breeds of broiler chicken. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8684626","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":601247198,"identity":"e0cfc006-2054-4401-83d6-7084829c9c18","order_by":0,"name":"Mehmet KAYA","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA80lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHjBpAMSMDxjYQOwEYrQkgLUwG8C1HCBSC5sEUVp023uPbvj4g8GYf0bys4ofZYcZ+NlzDJg/7sGtxezMubSbMxIYzCRupJnd7Dl3mEGy540Bw4FneLTcyDG7zZPAYMNwI8HsBm/bYQaDGzlALXhcZnb/jdntP0At8jfSvxX+BWqxJ6jlBo/ZbaCHzYCGmzGDbZEgpOVMDtALaRLGhmfeFEvLnEvnkTjzrODAGXxajp8xu/HDxsZw3vH0jR/flFnL8bcnb3xQgUcLFEgwMAgkgFngxEBYAxjwE6luFIyCUTAKRh4AAPQrV+k0bkb6AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2377-4474","institution":"Adnan Menderes University: Adnan Menderes Universitesi","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mehmet","middleName":"","lastName":"KAYA","suffix":""},{"id":601247199,"identity":"565cba07-2e23-4697-9ebb-5469f7a1f551","order_by":1,"name":"Solmaz KARAARSLAN","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adnan Menderes University: Adnan Menderes Universitesi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Solmaz","middleName":"","lastName":"KARAARSLAN","suffix":""},{"id":601247200,"identity":"eb08613b-d37c-4a43-9475-6295f23eb764","order_by":2,"name":"Mehmet Kenan TÜRKYILMAZ","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Adnan Menderes University: Adnan Menderes Universitesi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mehmet","middleName":"Kenan","lastName":"TÜRKYILMAZ","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-24 07:29:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8684626/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8684626/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104406289,"identity":"47e39b65-20e9-4126-bfe8-9f5669002888","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:25:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1321360,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8684626/v1/09d36dc7-a464-4631-9503-a94c33157e07.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Combined effects of flooring systems and perch cooling on performance, behavior, and meat quality of broiler chickens under high ambient temperatures","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIntensive genetic selection in modern broiler chickens has resulted in substantial improvements in growth rate, feed efficiency, and carcass yield. However, the successful expression of this genetic potential is highly dependent on housing and environmental conditions. In intensive production systems, housing-related factors influence not only productive performance but also behavioral expression, physiological regulation, and meat quality. When environmental stressors interact with the elevated metabolic demands of fast-growing broiler genotypes, suboptimal housing conditions may compromise both production efficiency and animal welfare (Butterworth \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Nicol et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eModern broiler strains are particularly sensitive to environmental challenges, as rapid growth and high metabolic heat production increase susceptibility to stress-related behavioral and physiological disturbances. This sensitivity becomes more pronounced under hot environmental conditions, where increased thermal load alters activity patterns, reduces performance, and negatively affects welfare status (Nawaz et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Oke 2024).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong housing components, flooring systems and litter management play a central role in shaping the broiler microenvironment. Conventional litter-based systems remain widely used; however, maintaining adequate litter quality is especially challenging in hot and humid climates. Elevated ambient temperature and moisture accumulation accelerate litter degradation and ammonia release, which have been associated with impaired growth, increased incidence of contact dermatitis, and altered behavior indicative of reduced welfare (Bist et al. 2022; Fiorilla et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo mitigate litter-related problems, alternative flooring systems such as plastic-grid and slatted floors have gained attention due to their potential to reduce contact with moist litter and improve hygienic conditions. While these systems may enhance litter dryness and integument health under intensive and hot rearing conditions (Kaukonen et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Martrenchar et al. 2022), concerns have been raised regarding their effects on behavior expression. Restricted access to manipulable substrates may limit natural behaviors and modify locomotor activity and social interactions, highlighting the need for integrated evaluations that consider productivity, behavior, and welfare outcomes simultaneously (Brass\u0026oacute; et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; Neethirajan \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThermal management represents an additional major challenge in broiler production. Exposure to high ambient temperatures is widely recognized as a key environmental stressor, negatively affecting feed intake, growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality, while eliciting pronounced thermoregulatory behaviors (Apalowo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Silva et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). In this context, environmental enrichment strategies such as perches have been proposed to support activity and spatial use, and more recently, cooled perches have been introduced as a form of thermal enrichment aimed at facilitating heat dissipation. Although perch cooling has been shown to influence thermal comfort and behavior, its effects on growth performance and meat quality remain inconsistent across studies (Hu et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Nazareno et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Tarmooz et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; Zago-Dias et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotably, most previous studies have examined flooring systems and thermal management strategies independently. Research on alternative flooring has primarily focused on hygienic or behavioral outcomes without incorporating targeted thermal enrichment, whereas studies on thermal management have rarely accounted for flooring type as a modifying factor (Idrus et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Sesay \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Przybulinski et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, information on the combined effects of flooring systems and perch cooling on growth performance, meat quality, and behavior remains limited, particularly under high ambient temperature conditions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the combined effects of flooring type (plastic-grid floor, zeolite-amended litter, and wood shavings) and perch cooling on growth performance, meat quality traits, and behavioral patterns of broiler chickens reared under naturally occurring high ambient temperature conditions using a factorial design. It was hypothesized that flooring type would primarily influence growth-related responses and behavioral organization, whereas perch cooling would exert selective effects on meat quality traits and feeding- and drinking-related behaviors, with potential interactions reflected in specific postmortem parameters rather than overall growth performance.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eAnimals and experimental design\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, 234 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery (EGE-TAV Agriculture and Livestock Investment Trade and Industry Inc., Izmir, T\u0026uuml;rkiye) and randomly allocated to 18 floor pens according to a 3 \u0026times; 2 factorial experimental design. Treatments consisted of three flooring types plastic-grid floor (PF), zeolite-amended litter (Z), and wood shavings (WS); and two perch conditions perch cooling (PC) or no perch cooling (NC). Each treatment combination was replicated three times, with 13 birds per pen. The experiment was conducted at the Poultry Research Unit of Aydın Adnan Menderes University.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn litter-based treatments, pine wood shavings were applied at a depth of 5 cm. For the zeolite treatment, natural clinoptilolite zeolite was thoroughly mixed with wood shavings at 6 kg/m\u0026sup2;, a level previously applied in broiler litter systems due to its moisture- and ammonia-binding capacity and suitability for commercial conditions (Kaya et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The resulting litter depth was adjusted to approximately 5 cm. This approach aimed to improve litter quality while reducing direct contact between birds and the underlying floor surface. In the PF treatment, plastic slatted panels (50 \u0026times; 50 cm) with a height of 5 cm and mesh openings of 2 \u0026times; 2 cm were used.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGalvanized steel perches (110 cm length, 30 mm diameter) were installed horizontally at a height of 15 cm above the pen floor and positioned to ensure that birds crossed the perch when accessing feed and water. Perch allowance was standardized at 8.46 cm per bird across treatments. In PC pens, a commercial water-cooling system (Cihso 2000, 2.5 hp) circulated chilled water (5000 mL/min) through the perches, maintaining a water temperature of 10\u0026deg;C. Although perches were installed from day 1, cooling was initiated from day 14 to coincide with increased body mass and thermal load. Water temperature in cooled perches was monitored twice daily.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHousing and general management\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBroiler chickens were housed in floor pens under controlled environmental conditions. Each replicate group was maintained in a pen measuring 1.1 m \u0026times; 1.5 m \u0026times; 0.75 m, providing approximately 1 m\u0026sup2; of usable floor area per pen. Stocking density was set at 33 kg/m\u0026sup2; in accordance with EU regulations (EU \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Each pen was equipped with one round feeder (0.4 m diameter), providing 9.66 cm feeder space per bird, and one nipple drinker line with three nipples (4.33 birds per nipple).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiets were formulated according to the nutritional recommendations for Ross 308 broilers (Aviagen \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Birds received a three-phase feeding program consisting of a pre-starter diet (3,000 kcal/kg metabolizable energy; 23% crude protein) from day 0 to 10, a starter diet (3,100 kcal/kg; 21.5% crude protein) from day 11 to 24, and a finisher diet (3,200 kcal/kg; 19.5% crude protein) from day 25 to 42 (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Feed and water were provided ad libitum throughout the experiment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComposition of diets during the experiment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIngredients (g/kg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePre-starter\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0\u0026ndash;10 d)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStarter\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(11\u0026ndash;24 d)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinisher\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(25\u0026ndash;42 d)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaize\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e503\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e533\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e568\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSoybean meal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e398\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e362\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e320\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVegetable oil\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWheat bran\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLimestone\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDicalcium phosphate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDL-Methionine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eL-Lysine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSodium chloride\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVitamin-mineral premix\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCalculated nutrient composition\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMetabolizable energy (kcal/kg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3101\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3204\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCrude protein, CP\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e230\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e215\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e195\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCalcium, Ca\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhosphorus, P\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvailable phosphorus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMethionine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLysine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e: Vitamin-mineral premix contains the following for per kg diet: vitamin A 12.000 IU; vitamin D3 1500 IU; vitamin E 30 mg; vitamin K3 5 mg; vitamin B1 3 mg; vitamin B2 6 mg; vitamin B6 5 mg; vitamin B12 0.03 mg; niacin 40 mg; pantothenic acid 10 mg; folic acid, 0.75 mg; d-biotin, 0.075 mg; choline chloride, 375 mg; manganese, 80 mg; iron, 40 mg; zinc, 60 mg; copper, 5 mg; iodine, 0.4 mg; cobalt, 0.1 mg; selenium, 0.15 mg; and antioxidant, 10 mg.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLighting management followed European Union Council Directive standards (EU \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). A 23L:1D lighting schedule was applied during the first seven days and the final four days before slaughter (days 39\u0026ndash;42), while an 18L:6D photoperiod was used during the remaining period.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe experiment was conducted during the summer under naturally occurring high ambient temperature conditions. Ambient temperature and relative humidity were monitored using data loggers placed at three central locations in each pen at bird eye level (10\u0026ndash;30 cm above the floor) and adjusted as birds grew. Environmental data were recorded twice daily. The loggers had a temperature resolution of 0.1\u0026deg;C and a relative humidity resolution of 1%. Average ambient temperatures were approximately 28.3\u0026deg;C at night and 29.2\u0026deg;C at midday, with relative humidity ranging from 56.3% to 56.6%, consistent with values previously reported under identical conditions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite the use of automated ventilation fans, ambient temperatures could not be reduced to levels recommended in Ross 308 management guidelines (Aviagen \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), resulting in chronic exposure of birds to elevated ambient temperatures throughout the experimental period.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eData collection\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGrowth performance\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBroilers were weighed individually at placement and thereafter at weekly intervals until 6 weeks of age to determine body weight (BW) and monitor growth performance. For statistical evaluation, individual BW values were summarized as weekly pen means. Feed intake (FI) was recorded on a pen-weekly basis by weighing the feed offered at the beginning of each week and subtracting the residual feed at the end of the corresponding week. Cumulative FI was calculated from day 0 to each sampling point. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated on a pen basis as cumulative feed intake divided by cumulative body weight gain over the respective period. Mortality was recorded daily, and cumulative mortality rates were calculated and expressed on a pen basis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMeat quality traits\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn day 42, a total of 126 broilers (7 birds per pen) were randomly selected for meat quality evaluations, with all pens contributing equally; the pen was considered the experimental unit for statistical analysis. Birds were fasted for 12 h prior to slaughter and individually weighed. Slaughter was performed in the experimental processing unit by severing the jugular vein, followed by scalding (53\u0026deg;C for 150 s), mechanical plucking (35 s), and manual evisceration. Breast muscle samples (\u003cem\u003eM. pectoralis major\u003c/em\u003e) were excised for subsequent analyses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreast meat pH was measured at 15 min (pH\u003csub\u003e15\u003c/sub\u003e) and 24 h (pH\u003csub\u003eU\u003c/sub\u003e) postmortem on the right pectoral muscle using a portable digital pH meter (Hanna Instruments HI 9124) equipped with a penetration electrode (Hanna FC-200). Measurements were taken at three locations per fillet, and the pH meter was calibrated using standard buffer solutions (pH 4.00 and 6.96). Meat color was assessed at 24 h postmortem on the skinless surface of the left breast muscle according to the CIE Lab color system (Commission Internationale de l\u0026rsquo;\u0026Eacute;clairage \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1978\u003c/span\u003e), recording lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) using a CR-400 Minolta colorimeter (Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc., Osaka, Japan).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCooking loss (CL) was determined at 24 h postmortem following Honikel (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e). Samples were weighed, cooked in a water bath until an internal temperature of 75\u0026deg;C was reached, cooled for 15 min, and reweighed; CL was expressed as the percentage of weight loss. Water-holding capacity (WHC) was assessed at 24 h postmortem using the method of Barton-Gade et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e), by applying a 2250 g weight for 5 min and calculating weight loss as a percentage of the initial sample weight.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eBehavioral traits\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBroiler behavior was assessed using a video-based monitoring system between 22 and 42 days of age. Cameras (ICU, B400) were mounted above each pen to provide continuous 24-h recordings with an unobstructed view of pen activity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBehavioral data were obtained from video recordings at two fixed daily time points (10:00 and 15:00) using an instantaneous scan sampling method (Estevez et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). Thirteen predefined behavioral traits were evaluated (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e; Ventura et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Panel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). At each observation time, behaviors were assessed sequentially using separate 3-min video segments, resulting in 39 min of analyzed footage per pen per time point (13 behaviors \u0026times; 3 min) and a total of 78 min per pen per day.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthogram of recorded broiler chicken behaviors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eResting behaviors\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLying down\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe bird rests with its body fully supported by the litter and shows little or no voluntary movement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe bird remains awake but inactive, standing or sitting without performing other behaviors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLocomotor behaviors\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWalking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSlow to moderate locomotion within the pen through alternating leg movements.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRunning\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRapid locomotion is characterized by quick successive steps, often indicating elevated activity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePecking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRepetitive non-ingestive beak contact with litter or pen structures.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWing Flapping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRepeated opening and closing of the wings while standing or moving, not associated with aggression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eComfort behaviors\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreening\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-grooming behavior involves feather cleaning and alignment using the beak.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDust bathing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA sequence of behaviors including lowering the body, rolling, and wing movements to distribute litter over feathers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStretching\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrief extension of wings, legs, or neck, typically following inactivity or posture change.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIngestive behaviors\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFeeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePecking at feed followed by visible ingestion and swallowing movements.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrinking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeak contact with the drinker followed by head elevation and swallowing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSocial / negative behaviors\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAggression\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirected agonistic interactions toward specifics, such as pecking or chasing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDisturbed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA short-lasting interruption of ongoing behavior triggered by an external stimulus, expressed without locomotion or aggression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"2\"\u003eBehavioral definitions were adapted from published broiler ethograms and instantaneous scan-sampling protocols (Ventura et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), with behavioral classification aligned with established welfare frameworks that include comfort- and disturbance-related behaviors (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare, 2023).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuring each scan, the number of birds performing a given behavior was recorded instantaneously. As observations were repeated across behaviors and time points, individual birds could be recorded more than once within the same day. For each pen, behavioral data were expressed as the proportion of birds exhibiting each behavior relative to the total number of birds in the pen. Behavioral observations across all sampling days were averaged to obtain a single pen-level mean for each behavioral trait. The pen was considered the experimental unit for all behavioral analyses (Zhao et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 22.0; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Normality and homogeneity of variances were assessed using the Shapiro\u0026ndash;Wilk or Kolmogorov\u0026ndash;Smirnov tests and Levene\u0026rsquo;s test, respectively. For growth performance traits, body weight (BW) was recorded individually but averaged weekly within pen to avoid pseudoreplication; thus, the pen was considered the experimental unit. Feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated and analyzed on a pen basis. Weekly BW, FI, and FCR data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) within the General Linear Model (GLM), including flooring type, perch cooling condition, and their interaction as fixed effects. Meat quality traits were measured on individual birds, averaged within pen, and analyzed using the same two-way ANOVA model, with the pen as the experimental unit. Behavioral data were expressed at the pen level as the proportion of birds exhibiting each behavior. Initial two-way ANOVA models including flooring type, perch cooling, and their interaction were explored; however, interaction effects were inconsistent and associated with negligible effect sizes across behavioral traits. Therefore, flooring type was analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests, whereas perch cooling effects were assessed using independent-samples t-tests. Behavioral proportional data did not approach boundary values, allowing the use of parametric tests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe statistical model applied for growth performance and meat quality traits was:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYijk\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026micro;\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;α\u003csub\u003ei\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;β\u003csub\u003ej\u003c/sub\u003e +(αβ)\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e +E\u003csub\u003eijk\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewhere; Y\u003csub\u003eijk\u003c/sub\u003e= represents the observed response variable, \u0026micro;\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;overall mean, α\u003csub\u003ei\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;the effect of floor type (PF, Z, and WS), β\u003csub\u003ej\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;the effect of perch cooling condition (PC and NC), (αβ)\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e= the interaction between main effects, and E\u003csub\u003eijk\u003c/sub\u003e= the residual error term. Differences were considered statistically significant at P\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.05, and Bonferroni-adjusted multiple comparisons were applied when appropriate.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGrowth performance\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBody weight (BW) data are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. Flooring type significantly affected BW at 7 d of age (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), with higher BW observed in broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring compared with wood shavings, while zeolite-amended litter showed intermediate values. From 14 d onwards, no differences in BW were observed among flooring types. A difference in BW was detected at 7 d between groups later assigned to perch cooling treatments (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01); however, no differences were observed at subsequent ages. No flooring type \u0026times; perch cooling interactions were detected for BW at any age.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBody weight (g) of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions\u003csup\u003e1,2,3,4\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp. Mean(g)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e147.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e353.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e645.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1046.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1523.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1932.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlastic-grid (PF)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e150.94\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e349.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e657.62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1057.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1517.37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1930.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZeolite (Z)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e146.22\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e351.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e632.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1016.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1493.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1897.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWood shavings (WS)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e144.16\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e355.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e645.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1067.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1557.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1968.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes (PC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e150.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e354.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e645.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1038.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1520.62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1947.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (NC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e143.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e349.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e644.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1054.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1525.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1916.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSEM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types x Perch Cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e352.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e668.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1059.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1532.62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1975.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e148.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e355.58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e633.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1022.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1510.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1936.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e149.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e355.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e635.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1034.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1517.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1931.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e147.58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e345.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e646.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1055.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1502.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1886.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e143.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e346.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e632.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1009.37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1475.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1857.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e139.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e355.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e655.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1099.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1598.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2005.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP Values\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.037\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.798\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.410\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.290\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.433\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.504\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.496\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.945\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.567\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.904\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.529\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types x Perch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.658\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.883\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.514\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.456\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.435\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.326\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eBody weight was measured individually, and weekly pen means were used for statistical analyzes.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eValues are presented as pen-level means (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6 pens per flooring type; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9 pens per perch cooling condition).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eMean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eDifferent superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCumulative feed intake (FI) is shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. Flooring type significantly affected cumulative FI across all periods (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), with broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring consistently showing higher FI than those reared on zeolite-amended litter or wood shavings. Perch cooling had no effect on FI, and no interaction effects were observed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCumulative feed intake (g) of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions\u003csup\u003e1,2,3,4\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;7 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;14 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;21 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;28 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;35 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;42 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp. Mean(g)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e119.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e491.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e926.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1571.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2433.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3191.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlastic-grid (PF)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e128.89\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e517.95\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e991.81\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1674.60\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2534.86\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3356.44\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZeolite (Z)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e116.77\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e482.27\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e901.01\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1481.94\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2585.14\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3035.51\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWood shavings (WS)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e113.78\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e475.10\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e886.17\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1557.68\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2398.71\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3181.30\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes (PC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e123.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e497.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e939.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1568.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2407.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3215.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (NC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e116.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e486.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e913.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1573.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2405.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3167.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSEM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e111.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types x Perch Cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e133.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e524.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1036.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1682.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2567.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3456.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e116.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e467.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e881.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1472.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2281.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3064.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e119.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e499.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e899.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1552.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2373.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3123.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e124.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e511.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e947.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1666.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2502.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3256.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e116.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e496.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e920.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1491.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2289.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3006.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e108.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e451.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e872.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1563.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2423.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3238.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP Values\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.016\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.042\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.127\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.331\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.348\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.917\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.975\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.609\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types x Perch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.523\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.410\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.182\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.951\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.804\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.396\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eCumulative feed intake was recorded at the pen level, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eValues are presented as pen-level means (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6 pens per flooring type; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9 pens per perch cooling condition).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eMean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eDifferent superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFeed conversion ratio (FCR) values are summarized in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. Flooring type significantly affected FCR during the early rearing period (0\u0026ndash;7 d and 0\u0026ndash;14 d) and over the 0\u0026ndash;35 d period (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), with lower FCR values observed in broilers reared on zeolite-amended litter compared with plastic-grid flooring, while wood shavings yielded intermediate responses. Perch cooling had no effect on FCR, and no flooring type \u0026times; perch cooling interactions were detected.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFeed conversion ratio (FCR) of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions\u003csup\u003e1,2,3,4\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;7 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;14 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;21 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;28 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;35 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;42 d\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp. Mean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlastic-grid (PF)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.22\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.97\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.87\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZeolite (Z)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.15\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.79\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.71\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWood shavings (WS)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.15\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.69\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.79\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes (PC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (NC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSEM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.016\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.073\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.074\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.070\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.040\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.081\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types x Perch Cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP Values\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.375\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.144\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.403\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.472\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.757\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.184\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.378\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.739\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.445\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types x Perch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.116\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.079\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.566\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.331\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.065\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.409\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eFeed conversion ratio was calculated on a pen basis using cumulative feed intake and body weight gain, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eValues are presented as pen-level means (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6 pens per flooring type; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9 pens per perch cooling condition).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eMean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eDifferent superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall mortality was low (0.85%) and was not subjected to statistical analysis due to the absence of treatment-related patterns.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeat quality traits\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreast meat quality traits are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e. Flooring type did not significantly affect water-holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), or early postmortem pH (pH15). Ultimate pH (pHU) was significantly affected by flooring type (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), whereas no significant effects were observed for color parameters.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeat quality traits of broilers reared under different flooring types and perch cooling conditions\u003csup\u003e1,2,3,4\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWHC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCL\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eL*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ea*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eb*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epH\u003csub\u003e15\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003epH\u003csub\u003eU\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExp. Mean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlastic-grid (PF)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.46\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZeolite (Z)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.45\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWood shavings (WS)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.52\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes (PC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (NC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56.58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSEM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFlooring types x Perch cooling\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.44\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.48\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x PC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.45\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePF x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.48\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.42\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWS x NC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.59\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP Values\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.196\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.865\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.054\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.378\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.097\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.229\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.035\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.269\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.096\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.114\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.087\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types x Perch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.232\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.639\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.422\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.078\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.982\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eMeat quality traits were measured individually, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eValues are presented as pen-level means (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6 pens per flooring type; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9 pens per perch cooling condition).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eMean separation among flooring type groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eDifferent superscript letters within a column indicate significant differences among flooring types (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling significantly affected WHC, CL, and breast meat lightness (L*) (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), while no effects were detected for a*, b*, pH15, or pHU. A significant flooring type \u0026times; perch cooling interaction was observed for pHU (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01), with no interaction effects detected for the remaining meat quality traits.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eBehavioral traits\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBehavioral outcomes are summarized in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e. Flooring type significantly affected several behavioral traits. Broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring showed higher proportions of walking, wing flapping, aggression, eating, and drinking compared with those reared on zeolite-amended litter and wood shavings (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), whereas pecking behavior was lower in this group (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab7\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 7\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffects of flooring types and perch cooling on selected behavioral patterns of broilers during weeks 3\u0026ndash;6 (%)\u003csup\u003e1,2,3,4\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFactors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWood shavings\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(WS)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eZeolite\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Z)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePlastic-grid\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e(PF)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eP\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eValues\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNo\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eYes\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eValues\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLying down\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.202\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.822\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.226\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.226\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWalking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.802\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRunning\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.072\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.147\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePecking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlapping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.662\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreening\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.495\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.448\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDust bathing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.494\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.075\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStretching\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.092\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEating\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.010\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrinking\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.0\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.040\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAggression\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.678\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDisturbed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.534\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.827\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eBehavioral traits were expressed as the proportion of birds per pen based on video observations, and pen means were used for statistical analyzes.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eValues are presented as pen-level means (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6 pens per flooring type; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9 pens per perch cooling condition).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eMean separation among flooring type or perch cooling groups was performed using the Bonferroni adjustment when significant effects were detected.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eMeans within the same row and factor with different superscript letters differ significantly (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05); P values indicate the main effects of flooring type and perch cooling.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling significantly affected eating and drinking behaviors, with lower proportions observed in broilers housed with perch cooling compared with those housed without perch cooling (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). No significant effects of perch cooling were detected for the remaining behavioral traits.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOverall, the results indicate that flooring type and perch cooling influenced broiler chickens through largely distinct but complementary mechanisms under high ambient temperature conditions. Flooring systems primarily affected behavioral organization and feed utilization, whereas perch cooling exerted selective effects on postmortem muscle characteristics and ingestive behavior. The limited number of interaction effects further supports the view that structural housing components and thermal interventions operate as functionally independent management tools when optimizing productivity, welfare, and meat quality in heat-challenged broiler systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGrowth performance\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the present study, flooring type influenced body weight only during the early post-placement period, with higher BW at 7 d observed in broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring compared with those housed on wood shavings, while zeolite-amended litter produced intermediate values. The absence of flooring-related BW differences from 14 d onwards suggests that these effects were transient and associated with early adaptation to the housing environment rather than sustained alterations in growth potential. Similar short-lived or inconsistent effects of alternative flooring systems on early BW have been reported previously (Topal and Petek \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Honig et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarly BW differences may reflect variation in footing stability, microclimatic conditions at chick level, or early behavioral activity, which are particularly relevant during the first week of life when thermoregulation and locomotor control are still developing. As broilers age, declining activity levels and increasing metabolic constraints associated with rapid growth likely reduce the relative influence of flooring characteristics on BW expression (Hartcher and Lum \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), explaining the convergence observed after 14 d.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough a difference in BW was detected at 7 d between groups later assigned to perch cooling treatments, cooling was initiated from day 14 onwards, indicating that this early difference was incidental rather than treatment-related. This interpretation is supported by the absence of perch cooling effects on BW, cumulative feed intake, or feed conversion ratio after cooling commenced.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring type consistently influenced cumulative feed intake throughout the experimental period and affected feed conversion ratio during early growth and at 35 d. Broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring consumed more feed but showed poorer feed efficiency than those housed on zeolite-amended litter, with wood shavings yielding intermediate responses. This pattern suggests differences in energy utilization rather than growth capacity per se.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBehavioral findings provide a plausible explanation for these performance-related outcomes. Broilers housed on plastic-grid flooring exhibited higher levels of walking, wing flapping, and aggression, together with altered pecking behavior, consistent with increased locomotor activity and social disturbance. Similar associations between elevated activity, altered behavior, and reduced feed efficiency have been reported in broilers reared on slatted or alternative flooring systems (Topal and Petek \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Honig et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Increased activity and social interactions may divert metabolizable energy away from growth toward non-productive processes, thereby reducing feed efficiency (Baxter et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Abeyesinghe et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition to activity-related mechanisms, housing characteristics such as surface hardness, grip, and the absence of manipulable substrates may influence comfort and movement patterns, potentially promoting discomfort-related behaviors or behavioral redirection. Restricted access to litter has been shown to limit substrate-directed behaviors and modify social interactions in broilers (Bailie et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Louren\u0026ccedil;o da Silva et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Although these factors were not directly measured, they represent plausible complementary mechanisms underlying the combined behavioral and feed efficiency responses observed on plastic-grid flooring.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeat quality traits\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding meat quality, flooring type exerted only limited effects, whereas perch cooling significantly influenced several parameters, including water-holding capacity, cooking loss, and breast meat lightness. Neither flooring type nor perch cooling affected early postmortem pH, while ultimate pH was influenced by flooring type and its interaction with perch cooling. This pattern indicates that postmortem muscle characteristics were relatively insensitive to acute pre-slaughter stress responses, as reflected by the stability of early postmortem pH, but were responsive to longer-term housing- and thermal-environmental factors and their combined effects during rearing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concurrent increase in water-holding capacity and cooking loss observed with perch cooling is not contradictory, as these traits reflect distinct and partially independent aspects of muscle water dynamics. Water-holding capacity primarily represents the ability of myofibrillar proteins to retain intracellular and intermyofibrillar water under low external forces, whereas cooking loss is largely determined by heat-induced protein denaturation, fibre shrinkage, and structural reorganization during thermal processing. Classic meat science literature has long demonstrated that these parameters do not necessarily change in parallel (Allen et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e), and recent reviews further emphasise that chronic thermal load or its alleviation may modify protein functionality and muscle structure without inducing acute stress-related quality defects (Prates \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe absence of differences in early postmortem pH further supports the interpretation that the observed effects of perch cooling on water-holding capacity and cooking loss were unlikely to be driven by acute stress immediately prior to slaughter. Instead, these responses are more plausibly associated with gradual modifications in muscle metabolism, ultrastructure, and protein hydration properties under conditions of improved thermal comfort during rearing. Contemporary experimental studies investigating cooling-based environmental enrichments similarly report alterations in selected meat quality traits in the absence of marked changes in early postmortem pH, suggesting that such interventions primarily act through cumulative physiological adaptations rather than acute stress pathways (Khalfi et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerch cooling also increased breast meat lightness, whereas the effects of flooring type on color parameters remained marginal. When pH values are maintained within physiological ranges, increases in lightness are more plausibly attributed to changes in muscle hydration status and surface reflectance properties rather than to the development of PSE-like conditions. Both classical and recent literature indicate that modifications in water distribution and muscle microstructure can increase light scattering at the meat surface, resulting in paler breast meat without compromising overall meat quality (Petracci and Cavani \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe significant interaction between flooring type and perch cooling observed for ultimate pH further suggests that postmortem biochemical processes may be shaped by the combined influence of housing conditions and activity- or behavior-related differences during rearing. Recent housing-system comparisons indicate that flooring design can indirectly influence muscle metabolism through effects on locomotor activity, resting behavior, and energy expenditure, while thermal interventions may modulate these responses by alleviating heat load (Honig et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Although these mechanisms were not directly quantified in the present study, the interaction effect observed here supports the notion that flooring system and thermal enrichment may jointly modulate postmortem muscle characteristics, even in the absence of pronounced differences in overall growth performance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eBehavioral traits\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBehavioral analysis indicated that flooring type exerted a stronger influence on the behavioral organization of broiler chickens than perch cooling, whereas perch cooling showed more selective, behavior-specific effects. Broilers housed on plastic-grid flooring exhibited higher proportions of walking and wing flapping, increased aggressive interactions, and reduced pecking behavior (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e). Locomotor behaviors such as walking and wing flapping are widely recognized as sensitive animal-based indicators reflecting housing structure, surface characteristics, and movement costs in broilers (Dawkins \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; Bokkers and Koene \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Panel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). The elevated expression of these behaviors under plastic-grid flooring suggests a more active but potentially less stable behavioral organization, as increased activity may also be associated with higher social tension and energy expenditure (Bailie and O\u0026rsquo;Connell \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFlooring type also affected ingestive behaviors, with higher instantaneous proportions of eating and drinking observed on plastic-grid flooring, consistent with the higher cumulative feed intake recorded for this treatment. However, behavioral time budgets reflect the organization of activity rather than intake efficiency per se. Previous behavioral and energetic models indicate that increased locomotor activity and altered spatial use can lead to more frequent feeder and drinker visits without improvements in feed efficiency, particularly when maintenance energy costs increase (Dawkins et al. 2012; Cartoni Mancinelli et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, perch cooling exerted limited effects on overall behavioral expression, affecting only eating and drinking behaviors. Birds housed with perch cooling showed lower observed proportions of ingestive behavior during scan sampling, while other behaviors remained unchanged. This pattern should not be interpreted as reduced feed intake, as scan sampling captures behavior at discrete time points rather than total duration or daily intake. Methodological studies demonstrate that scan sampling outcomes are sensitive to observation timing and behavior frequency, with short-duration or temporally clustered behaviors being prone to underestimation (Altmann \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e). Under chronic heat exposure, broilers also reorganize ingestive activity toward cooler periods, redistributing feeding and drinking rather than suppressing motivation (Hartcher and Lum \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Accordingly, the observed reduction in ingestive behavior with perch cooling likely reflects a temporal reorganization associated with improved thermal comfort.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDust bathing behavior was not affected by flooring type or perch cooling. This finding should be interpreted cautiously, as dust bathing is episodic, context-dependent, and sensitive to ambient temperature and recording methodology. Under chronically high temperatures, its expression may be reduced or absent even in healthy flocks, and scan sampling may underestimate its occurrence (Panel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe behavioral results indicate that plastic-grid flooring promoted a more active behavioral organization characterized by increased locomotion, social interactions, and ingestive behavior without sustained benefits for growth performance. In contrast, perch cooling functioned as a targeted thermal intervention that modified the temporal organization of ingestive behavior without broadly altering locomotor or social activity. These findings highlight the importance of interpreting behavioral responses alongside performance and meat quality outcomes when evaluating housing interventions under high ambient temperature conditions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, the findings indicate that flooring systems and perch cooling affect broiler chickens through largely independent yet complementary pathways under high ambient temperature conditions. Flooring type primarily influenced behavioral organization and feed utilization, as evidenced by differences in locomotor activity, social interactions, cumulative feed intake, and feed efficiency, without causing sustained changes in growth performance. In contrast, perch cooling acted as a targeted thermal intervention, selectively modifying postmortem meat quality traits and the temporal organization of ingestive behavior rather than broadly enhancing growth. The limited interaction effects observed further suggest that structural housing components and thermal enrichment should be viewed as complementary, rather than interchangeable, management approaches for balancing productivity, welfare, and product quality in heat-challenged broiler production systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEthics approval and animal welfare:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e All experimental procedures involving animals were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards and animal welfare regulations of Aydın Adnan Menderes University. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Aydın Adnan Menderes University (Approval No. 64583101/2021/093).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent for publication:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e Not applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAvailability of data and materials:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFunding:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e This research was supported by the Directorate of Scientific Research Projects of Aydın Adnan Menderes University (BAP Project No. VTF-22008).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuthors\u0026rsquo; contributions:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e MK conceptualized and designed the study, obtained funding, coordinated the research, and collected the data. MK drafted the initial version of the manuscript. SK and MKT critically reviewed and revised the manuscript. MK prepared the final version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eConflict of interest:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e The authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAcknowledgements:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e The authors are grateful to the Poultry Research Unit of Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, T\u0026uuml;rkiye, for providing the facilities and support necessary to conduct this study.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbeyesinghe SM, Chancellor NM, Moore DH, Chang YM, Pearce J, Demmers T, Nicol CJ (2021) Associations between behavior and health outcomes in conventional and slow-growing breeds of broiler chicken. 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Poult Sci 92(8):1962\u0026ndash;1971. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2012-02933\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3382/ps.2012-02933\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"tropical-animal-health-and-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"trop","sideBox":"Learn more about [Tropical Animal Health and Production](https://www.springer.com/journal/11250)","snPcode":"11250","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11250/3","title":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Broiler chickens, flooring systems, perch cooling, behavior, feed efficiency, meat quality, high ambient temperature","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8684626/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8684626/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study evaluated the combined effects of flooring type and perch cooling on broiler growth performance, meat quality, and behavior under high ambient temperature. In a 3 \u0026times; 2 factorial design, 234 male Ross 308 broilers were reared on plastic-grid flooring, zeolite-amended litter, or wood shavings, with cooled or non-cooled perches. Performance was recorded per pen; meat quality traits were measured individually and analyzed using pen means; behavior was assessed by video-based scan sampling. Flooring type affected body weight only during the early post-placement period, whereas cumulative feed intake was consistently higher in broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring. Feed conversion ratio differed among flooring systems during early growth and over the 0\u0026ndash;35 d period, with zeolite-amended litter improving feed efficiency relative to plastic-grid flooring, while wood shavings yielded intermediate responses. Behavioral responses were mainly influenced by flooring type: broilers reared on plastic-grid flooring showed higher locomotor activity and aggression and reduced pecking behavior compared with litter-based systems. Perch cooling selectively reduced observed eating and drinking, whereas most other behaviors were unaffected. Perch cooling significantly influenced water-holding capacity, cooking loss, and breast meat lightness, while flooring type affected ultimate pH, with a significant flooring by perch cooling interaction. Overall, the findings indicate that flooring systems and perch cooling influence broiler chickens through largely independent yet complementary pathways, with flooring primarily shaping behavioral organization and feed utilization, and perch cooling selectively modulating postmortem meat quality and the temporal organization of ingestive behavior under high ambient temperature conditions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Combined effects of flooring systems and perch cooling on performance, behavior, and meat quality of broiler chickens under high ambient temperatures","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-10 23:02:59","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8684626/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2026-03-18T21:09:39+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-05T08:45:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-29T07:06:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","date":"2026-01-24T02:28:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"tropical-animal-health-and-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"trop","sideBox":"Learn more about [Tropical Animal Health and Production](https://www.springer.com/journal/11250)","snPcode":"11250","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11250/3","title":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ade41296-5b8e-4d03-b134-88056b367713","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 10th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-12T23:09:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-10 23:02:59","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8684626","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8684626","identity":"rs-8684626","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}