Background:

The material used for poultry bedding is an important factor for breeders, since it requires elements that provide comfort to the birds and do not depress the production potential. Aim: To evaluate the performance of chopped maize rachis as poultry bedding for Dekalb White® replacement layer pullets (1-16 weeks).

Methods:

A completely randomized experimental design with two treatments and 12 repetitions was conducted for 112 days to 1.416 one-day old sexed Dekalb White® replacement layer pullets. The treatments consisted in two bedding types (wood shaving and chopped maize rachis). All the birds were subjected to the same experimental conditions. The productive performance was determined in the 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, and 13-16 week periods, and in week 16; two methods were used to calculate uniformity.

Results:

The utilization of chopped maize rachis did not reduce (P˃0.05) live weight, food consumption, food conversion, and mortality throughout the productive phases evaluated. According to the ±10 method, uniformity showed no significant differences between the treatments (P˃0.05); however, based on the standard weight method of the genetic line, the utilization of chopped maize rachis raised the batch's uniformity (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

The use of chopped maize rachis as an alternative for bedding does not reduce the productive performance of starter pullets (until week 16). Additionally, according to the standard weight method of the genetic line, the uniformity found in the pullet group on chopped maize rachis was better, though no significant changes were observed with this method ±10.