Is Weather (temperature) Having a Major Influence on the Final Weights of Chickens in Sheepdrove Organic Farm Organic Silvo-Poultry System?

Summary

It was thought that weather, and in particular air temperature, could be a major factor in SOF poultry failing to reach its target market weight of 1.83kg kill out weight. This study used data form the SOF processing plant for the average bird weight for the twice weekly processing of the birds and hourly air temperature from an automated weather station sited on SOF which was averaged over the seven weeks prior to processing (the time the birds spend in the field sheds. The data between 20th January and 3rd September 2003 showed that there was no relationship between air temperature and final bird weight.