Outdoor access is an important part of organic and free-range poultry production, yet limited information exists on the effect of various housing and production systems on growth performance and colonization of food-borne pathogens. Therefore, the primary purpose of the current study was to evaluate the influence of different housing systems, particularly fixed versus small, portable houses, with and without outdoor access to pasture, on seasonal growth performance, leg quality, and presence of bacterial food-borne pathogens. In the current study, we used fastgrowing broilers, as many small producers use commercial broilers due to their carcass conformation and high breast yield compared with slow-growing hybrids or standard heritage breeds. Although interest in alternative genetics exists because they may be more adapted to outdoor production, they require longer growing periods, with accompanying labor and cost. A pasture containing a mixture of forages was used to simulate the conditions common for small farms in the local region. The experiment had 4 treatment groups: (1) small, portable hoop houses with access to pasture, (2) small, portable hoop houses without access to pasture, (3) a fixed house with access to the outdoors, and (4) a fixed house without access to the outdoors. The present study was repeated at different times of the year to determine if a seasonal effect on the consumption of pasture and carcass quality was present. Overall, raising birds in hoop houses resulted in a reduced growth rate compared with birds raised in the fixed house. None of the production systems altered bone strength or feed conversion. Food-borne pathogens commonly associated with poultry were not found in any of the environments tested. Seasonal production was an issue in the small hoop house birds, as extreme heat in the summer resulted in early termination of that trial. Expanding on forage choice in pastures and customizing hoop houses to deal with weather fluctuations, especially in regions where extreme heat may affect production, are important considerations for these systems.Key words: free range , broiler , range management , organic 2014 J. Appl. Poult. Res. 23 :1-9 http://dx.Different letters in a column signify difference at P < 0.05. 1 Birds were reared together of the first 3 wk and then moved into treatment groups at that time.

Campylobacter is one of the leading causes of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, and poultry is considered as the most common source of human infections. Campylobacter is prevalent in most poultry flocks and a reduction of Campylobacter in poultry would greatly reduce the risk of campylobacteriosis in humans. Unfortunately, efforts to reduce Campylobacter in pre-harvest poultry have been met with limited success. Preliminary studies with the natural compound, chitosan, demonstrate its ability to kill Campylobacter, in vitro. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of feed supplemented chitosan to reduce enteric Campylobacter colonization in broiler chickens. Additionally, the effect of chitosan on expression of Campylobacter's chicken colonization genes was investigated using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Because chitosan's antimicrobial properties may vary depending upon its molecular weight, selected doses of three molecular weight chitosans were supplemented in the feed and evaluated for efficacy to reduce Campylobacter in chickens. Three replicate trials were conducted, and in each trial, birds were divided into 10 treatments (n=10 birds/treatment) and were fed 0% (controls), 0.25%, 0.5% or 1% (wt./wt.) of a low, medium or high molecular weight chitosan. Birds were fed treated feed for the duration of the study and orally challenged with a four-strain mixture of wild type C. jejuni on day 6. On day 15, the ceca samples were collected for enumeration of Campylobacter. In all three trials, the 0.5% dose of the medium molecular weight chitosan reduced cecal Campylobacter counts (P<0.05). RTqPCR analysis revealed that chitosan down-regulated the expression of chicken colonization genes as compared to control (P<0.05). These results suggest that supplementation of chitosan in feed is a potential strategy to reduce the enteric colonization of Campylobacter in pre-harvest chickens.