Influence of male–male competition on reproductive performance and mortality of broiler breeders following intra-spiking

The study was conducted to determine the influence of male–male competition on reproductive performance and male mortality of Cobb 500 broiler breeder flocks following double intra-spiking. Broiler breeders were housed in 3 open-sided houses each accommodating 8,200 females and 820 males. Males of the same age on the same farm were exchanged between the houses (intra-spiking) to stimulate competition thereby changing the social hierarchy of each house. Intra-spiking was performed by replacing 25, 35, and 45% of males between the houses at 40 and 48 weeks of age (WOA), respectively. Eggs were collected from 36 to 55 WOA, when egg fertility and male mortality were recorded. Data was analyzed using repeated measures techniques of SAS 9.4, modeling the covariance structure of the observed data. Male–male competition (intra-spiking), age and their interaction significantly (P < 0.05) influenced egg fertility, hatchability, and male mortality. Average fertility and hatchability were increased in the 45% intra-spiked flocks (P < 0.05) (95.89 and 85.83%) compared with the 35% (95.13 and 86.30%) and 25% (94.42 and 0.23%) intra-spiked flocks. Fertility and hatchability with the 45% double intra-spiked flocks was consistently higher (P < 0.05) over time than the other double intra-spiked flocks. Male mortality was lower (P < 0.05) in the 45% intra-spiked flock (0.23%) than in the 35% (0.40%) and 25% (0.44%) intra-spiked flocks. After double intra-spiking, the male mortality in the 25 and 35% double intra-spiked flocks significantly increased (P < 0.05), whereas that of 45% intra-spiked flocks remained relatively low. Male mortality in the 45% intra-spiked flocks was consistently low over time than other double intra-spike levels from 45 WOA until the end of the trial. Noteworthy, egg fertility and hatchability gradually decreased, and mortality increased with increasing flock age toward the end of the productive life cycle. High level of male–male competition (45%) showed great promise as a tool to slow down the decrease in egg fertility and hatchability, and reduce male mortality in aging broiler breeder flocks.