Assessment of broiler surface temperature variation when exposed to different air temperatures

This study was conducted to determine the effect of the air temperature variation on the mean surface temperature (MST) of 7- to 35-day-old broiler chickens using infrared thermometry to estimate MST, and to study surface temperature variation of the wings, head, legs, back and comb as affected by air temperature and broiler age. One hundred Cobb® broilers were used in the experiment. Starting on day 7, 10 birds were weekly selected at random, housed in an environmental chamber and reared under three distinct temperatures (18, 25 and 32 ºC) to record their thermal profile using an infrared t...