Bird Husbandry
Four hundred eighty Ross × Ross 308 male broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery [12] and distributed equally across 40 floor pens so that each treatment was replicated 10 times, with 12 broilers in each pen (0.09 m bird). Each pen (replication) was an experimental unit (n = 10 for each treatment), with 8 broilers (subsamples and observational units) being randomly selected from each pen and used for various meat quality measurements. The experimental units were consistent for all measurements, but different numbers of subsamples were used to evaluate live performance, carcass traits, and the different meat quality measurements.