D. J. de Moura

Litter And Air Quality In Different Broiler Housing Conditions [qualidade Da Cama E Do Ar Em Diferentes Condições De Alojamento De Frangos De Corte]

The objective of this work was to assess the initial conditions of poultry housing for one-day-old chicks regarding the quality of reused bedding and of the air in commercial broiler houses with different types of minimum ventilation and typology, using geostatistical analysis. The experiment was carried out in four broiler houses: Blue House I (T1) and Blue House II (T2), Dark House (T3), and Conventional (T4). The following variables were evaluated: pH, moisture, surface temperature, and ammonia concentration, and samples were collected at bird height at 80 equidistant points in the brooding areas. Geostatistical analysis helped to identify the environmental critical control points. The management of minimum ventilation is not sufficient to guarantee air quality in the brooding area. The reused coffee and rice husk beds (T1 and T2) show better quality than the reused wood shaving beds (T3 and T4). The minimum ventilation system, in T2 and T4, is the most efficient regarding air renovation inside the brooding areas.

Impact of global warming on Brazilian beef production.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in the next hundred years the average temperature may increase by 5 oC in most Brazilian regions. Global climate changes may influence the way pasture is produced, leading most of the herd to change from pasture to either confinement or semi-confinement, which significantly increases the cost of meat production. This research aims at developing a predictive function by using quantitative predictive techniques in order to estimate the loss in Brazilian cattle meat production under the IPCC forecast scenario for global warming. The fuzzy model was developed having as input variables the following historical data about environmental factors for the most important producing counties in the Cerrado: total rain index (mm); environmental temperature (oC); extension of the dry season (days). The output was the risk of decreasing the grazing land capacity (RP). As a result of RP fuzzy model, an algorithm was developed to predict the impact of the IPCC forecast scenario in order to describe the risk of drought in pasture. The results of this research pointed that the increase of 5 oC may lead to decrease in pasture capacity around 50%. According to the built scenario of global warming, environmental techniques for mitigating exposure to higher temperatures will be needed, and the cost of production will proportionally rise.

Use of vitamin D to reduce lameness in broilers reared in harsh environments

In tropical poultry-producing countries, poultry houses usually have little environmental control. This study investigated the effect of dietary vitamin D on the incidence of leg abnormalities of a fast-growing broiler strain reared under harsh conditions. In this study, 300 one-day-old male broilers were distributed in two treatments with three replicates of 50 birds each. One group was fed a placebo and the other group was fed 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) in a soluble form. The environmental variables were weekly recorded during until birds were 49 days old. Birds were weekly gait scored, and their walking speed and vertical force while walking were assessed. Post-mortem examination was performed and skeletal lesions were assessed. Control birds presented more leg problems than those that ingested 25-OH-D3. These results suggest that dietary vitamin D is effective in decreasing the severity of lameness by reducing tibial dyschondroplasia and other leg abnormalities.

The Influence of Side-Curtain Color on Broiler Chick Behavior

Brazilian poultry production is prospering, and negative-pressure broiler houses are increasingly used to improve environmental control. One important issue is the color of the side curtains used in such houses due to the influence of colors on broiler behavior. This study aimed at evaluating the influence of different curtain color on the welfare of 7-day-old broilers, considering luminosity and other environmental parameters. Chicks were housed in three different negative-pressure broiler houses either with black (T1), blue (T2), or yellow (T3) side curtains. House environment (luminosity, dry-bulb temperature, air relative humidity, air velocity, and gas emissions) and the behavior of chicks on day 7 after housing were evaluated in three consecutive flocks in the morning and in the afternoon. Data were submitted to multivariate analysis, Kruskal-Wallis’ test, and Pearson’s correlation test. Luminosity and ITU were influenced by curtain color, and some of the evaluated behaviors were associated with luminosity or other environmental parameter.