José Antonio Delfino Barbosa Filho

Transporte de frangos: caracterização do microclima na carga durante o inverno

The objective of this study was to characterize the the microclimatic profile of broiler chicken transport trucks under commercial conditions, in the winter by continuous monitoring of environmental variables (temperature and relative air humidity) and deaths on arrival (DOAs). Three loads were monitored, from farm to slaughterhouse, considering factors such as distance (short, medium and long) and periods of the day (morning, afternoon and night). To obtain the environmental variables profile in the trucks during the journey, data loggers were installed in the trucks that determined the microclimate to which the birds were submitted and allowed the visualization of the Enthalpy Comfort Index (ECI) so that the lorry regions could be classified according to heat comfort limits for six-week old poultry. The temperature, relative humidity and ECI in the truck were analyzed using geostatistics, by the ordinary kriging method. The afternoon was the most critical period from the environmental point of view, and the central and rear parts of the truck were most problematic for the chickens from the microclimatic point of view and were thus the most susceptible to losses.

Avaliação do estresse térmico em condição simulada de transporte de frangos de corte

This experiment aimed to simulate thermal-stress-environment conditions in climatic chamber during the transportation of birds to slaughterhouse to evaluate the influence of these conditions on physiological parameters and carcass conformation in broiler chickens. Thirty chicks with 42 days old were weighted and distributed to transportation crates (10 chicks by crate), and submitted to high stress conditions (35oC and 85% RH) to simulate the transport to the slaughterhouse. At each time of exposition to the stress conditions (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes), two birds from each crate was withdrawn for further analyses. Body weight, rectal temperature, respiratory frequency and hematocrit value were measured, and after that they were slaughtered to evaluate of carcass conformation (carcass, breast, legs (thighs and drumsticks), back and viscera weights). Physiological and carcass conformation characteristics (body weight loss and legs weight, wings and back weights) differed after be submitted to high stress conditions. The exposition time and the environment conditions of transport affected negatively the metabolism and thermal body equilibrium of broilers.

Productive losses on broiler preslaughter operations: effects of the distance from farms to abattoirs and of lairage time in a climatized holding area

This work aimed to assess the effects of preslaughter lairage time on the welfare and mortality of broilers transported in different farm-abattoir distances. It was evaluated 215 poultry transport trucks from a commercial poultry slaughterhouse from 2006 to 2007. Data were obtained from the holding area acclimatized through fans and water misting in the mornings, afternoons and at night. The thermal variables (temperature and relative humidity), distance, lairage time and density of birds per cage were considered in the analysis. The effects of distance and lairage time were important in the variation of rectal temperature of the animals and on the number of dead animals per truck. Two models were developed (mean and dispersion), for each response variable in function of the interaction between lairage time and distance. As the lairage time in the holding area increased, the rectal temperature of the birds was reduced for all the studied distances. In farm-abattoir distances higher than 25 km, mortality was low when lairage time was lower than 1 hour. However, for distances below 25 km, in the same time interval, the number of dead birds was two-fold higher than in the first situation. The adjustment of lairage time has to be done accordingly to the distance provided that the lairage environment is correctly climatized.

Thermal stress related with mortality rates on broilers' preslaughter operations: a lairage time effect study

Concerning the reduction of preslaughter death losses, high temperature and relative humidity in the tropics are the major concerns regarding broiler survival prior slaughtering. However, the relationship between different lairage times under controlled environment and the thermal condition outside the holding area is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare different intervals of lairage time with different environmental temperature and relationship with poultry mortality rates. A study was conducted in a commercial poultry abattoir in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the year of 2006. The historical data set from 13,937 trucks, about broiler mortality during preslaughter operations, was given by the abattoir. Factors that influence the welfare of birds were studied, such as lairage time in abattoir and hourly dry-bulb temperature. The statistical analysis was performed using the Double Generalized Linear Models. The lower incidence of death losses before arrival at the processing plant (approximately 13 dead birds per truck) was observed when the lairage time was between 1 to 3 hours, under high temperatures (above 22°C). This effect was more pronounced under critical (25-28°C) and lethal intervals (above 29°C) (12 and 13 dead birds per truck, respectively). In relation to lairage time, the reduction in mortality rates was more pronounced in the intervals up to 1 hour of lairage under climatized conditions, with a reduction of 3 dead birds per truck. It was concluded that thermal stress have negative influence for broilers welfare kept under preslaughter conditions and variations on mortality rate are strongly related with different lairage times.

Fatores de estresse associados à criação de linhagens de avós de frangos de corte

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and the variability between parental lines of broiler chicken reared in different environments, considering the genotype and environment interaction. Performance and morphometric traits of parental lines of commercial broiler chicken reared up to the age of 42 days in a complete-controlled environment of a breeding farm, in usual conditions of broiler chicken production system and in stress environment conditions were evaluated. Indexes of thermal comfort (temperature and humidity and enthalpy) were used to evaluate the internal microclimate of the instalations, where the birds were reared. Comparison of averages of performance (body weight and carcass yield) and morphometric (back and leg featherings) traits of parental lines indicated they differed according to the rearing environment. Body weight and carcass yield were higher for male than for female lines, which presented better back and leg feathering than the male lineages.

Transport of broilers: load microclimate during Brazilian summer

The objective of this study was to characterize the microclimatic profile of broiler transport trucks under commercial conditions, in the summer, by continuous monitoring of environmental variables (temperature and air relative humidity). Three loads were monitored from farm to slaughterhouse, considering factors such as distance and day periods (morning, afternoon, and night). To obtain the profile of the environmental variables during journey, data loggers, that determined the microclimate to which birds were submitted, were installed in the trucks; data loggers also allowed visualization of the Enthalpy Comfort Index (ECI) so that load regions could be classified according to heat comfort limits for 6-week old poultries. Temperature, relative humidity, and ECI in the truck were analyzed, using geostatistics, by the ordinary kriging method. The afternoon was the most critical period, and truck central and rear regions were most problematic for chickens, thus most susceptible to losses.

Poultry transport microclimate analysis through Enthalpy Comfort Index (ECI): a seasonal assessment.

The transport of poultry is carried out under different conditions of distance, time and travel periods during the day. Depending of the thermal daily variability and seasonal effect, it is known that one of the main causes of animal stress during this pre-slaughter operation is the microclimate of the load, which can cause great losses. A method to evaluate the lorry thermal conditions during transport is the Enthalpy Comfort Index (ECI), which combines environmental temperature and relative humidity for an assessment the amount of heat in this environment and how much the birds are affected in their welfare. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the microclimate of the load, for winter and summer, using the ECI as index of thermal comfort. The trial was conducted in a commercial abattoir, in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, during 2006 and 2007, where were accompanied transports in the winter and summer, during the afternoon. The load of trucks was tracked by 47 data loggers in order to draw a thermal profile. After obtaining this profile, the ECI (kJ/kg of dry air) was calculated. The data analysis was made using geostatistics for the prediction of the other points in lorry, through ordinary kriging. The profile of the IEC, during the afternoon and in summer, was ranked as critical and lethal in most parts of the load, classifying the microclimate of the load as harmful to birds.

Percepção dos consumidores sobre o bem-estar dos animais de produção em Fortaleza, Ceará

A preocupacao com o bem-estar dos animais de producao tem sido muito debatida no meio academico. Contudo, para que o bem-estar animal seja aplicado amplamente nas propriedades rurais e necessario que haja demanda dos consumidores por este produto diferenciado. Diante disso, o principal objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o nivel de conhecimento dos consumidores de produtos de origem animal, de Fortaleza, Ceara, sobre o bem-estar dos animais de producao e sua disposicao em pagar por produtos que levem em consideracao as questoes do bem-estar animal. Para tanto, foi aplicado um questionario, contendo dez questoes a respeito do tema bem-estar animal, a um total de 216 entrevistados, escolhidos de forma aleatoria, levando-se em consideracao o sexo, a faixa etaria, a escolaridade e a renda familiar dos entrevistados. Os dados coletados foram analisados atraves de percentagem e atraves de um teste nao-parametrico de significância, o qui-quadrado. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria dos consumidores nao possui conhecimento suficiente sobre as questoes relacionadas ao bem-estar dos animais, porem acreditam que uma criacao diferenciada pode resultar em melhorias no produto final. Os consumidores, de Fortaleza, estao dispostos a pagar mais por produtos de qualidade superior e interessados em produtos com certificacao, que garanta sua qualidade final.

Internal ambience of bee colonies submitted to strengthening management by adding broods

This study aimed to investigate the ideal brood area to be introduced for strengthening Apis mellifera colonies, considering variations in the hives internal ambience. Therefore, eight colonies were equipped with data loggers for recording variations in temperature and humidity inside the hives. Then, these colonies were split in four treatments involving the swapping of four, three, two and one brood comb between strong and weak colonies. Growth in the amount of brood and food stores to the four colony strengthening treatments was assessed counting the comb cells to record changes in the brood and food area. The colonies tended to restore their normal thermoregulation within four hours after they had been manipulated and the hive cover had been closed, which quickly increased brood area in the receiving colonies. Results showed that adding up to three brood combs constitute an important alternative for strengthening Apis mellifera colonies because it did not interfere with nest thermoregulation, speeded up population growth in weak colonies and did not affect the development of strong colonies.

Welfare Evaluation by Image Analysis of Laying Hens in Different Breeding Systems and Environmental Conditions

This work aimed to evaluate aspects related to behavior and welfare of hens, comparing a conventional housing system (battery cages) with another system using litter, lair and roost. In addition, the effects of environmental conditions (stress or comfort) on final egg quality and behavior responses (analyzed by precision techniques) were evaluated using two laying hen lines. Two groups of 20 birds (10 Hy-line W36 and 10 Hy-line Brown) at the beginning of the production phase were submitted to two environmental conditions (26°C with 60% RH or 35°C with 70% RH) and two housing systems (battery cages or litter) during two consecutive weeks. During the evaluation period, bird behaviors were recorded by video cameras. Eggs produced during the whole experimental period were analyzed according to these quality parameters: egg weight, shell thickness, specific gravidity and Haugh unit. A significant (P<0.05) reduction in quality parameters was observed in eggs from laying hens raised under heat stress, mainly in those from the cage system. In relation to behavior, the housing system in litters proportioned the expression of all natural behaviors and those related to bird comfort, which permitted to improve welfare conditions. In the conventional system (laying cages), birds tried to manifest their natural behaviors in spite of lacking conditions for it. This impossibility for executing natural behaviors certainly promoted an increase of stress originated by this kind of housing system.