During the grower phase (22 to 34 days of age),
average scratch rate was 5.04% during the hot
season and 4.88% during the cold season, whereas
in the finisher phase (35 to 43 days of age) rates were
higher, of 29.01% during the hot season and 30.13%
during the cold season. It may be inferred that this was
caused by the increase in bird density, measured in kg
of bird per square meter (kg m-2), as birds grew order.