Matteo Barbari

Spatial Identification of Animals in Different Breeding Systems to Monitor Behavior

The aim of this paper was to focus the evolution of the application of technologies to identify and monitor animals. In time, a lot of various solutions have been thought up in order to record spatial data and time spotting of the animals in grazing areas. From first radio-telemetry approaches in the fifties to automatic photographing or videotaping, technology has made huge progress thanks to the digital revolution. Instruments have become more sophisticated, precise and automatic. The analysis of their capacity and limits could be useful to offer a complete overview about new opportunities for planning good research methodology. Bibliographical studies point out analogies, differences and technological advances of different systems of identification useful both for wild and domestic animal populations. The survey of conventional radio technologies, satellite telemetry, and RFID systems allows investigation of the real potentials and new opportunities of different solutions. In order to collect data to conduct a comparative analysis, new RFID products were tested on pigs on an outdoor farm located in a hilly area in the north of Italy. The preliminary results of electronic identification system to monitor pig behavior are presented in this paper. Outcomes of the paper trace the working out of new features of these technologies: automatic elaboration of databases, precision of remote sensing, minimizing instrument and human mistakes. All these characteristics enable researchers to operate widely and efficiently. Furthermore, researchers will be able to integrate the technologies in order to create an environmental analysis methodology aimed to optimize and rationalize animal management performance.

Animal Welfare Assessment in Cattle Farms

Different methodologies to evaluate animal welfare in cattle farms were proposed in last years. An Italian research team has recently developed a new methodology to assess animal welfare in dairy and beef cattle farms.

Hydraulic Approach to Flush Systems for Dairy Manure Removal

The following note characterizes the hydraulic behavior when removing manure from alleys through the flush system in dairy freestall barns. The flush system guarantees the moving, the conveyance and the removal of manure from the alleys flooring, depending on the main manure flux characteristics. The application of the Chezy’s formula, using the Manning expression for the Chezy coefficient, to calculate the mean flush flow velocity is investigated to outline the importance of the proper adjustment of the value to be attributed to the alley roughness, which depends on both the flooring material and the manure quantity on the flooring. Experiments on a freestall barn, located in the Reggio Emilia in the North of Italy, which has been using this cleaning system for some years, have been performed to calculate the Manning coefficient n values once it was known the flow flush velocity. Differences in the quantity and type of solid materials laying on the floor have been found to strongly influence the roughness of the alley and the variation on the velocity values. Velocity measurements collected during flush operations both on the already cleaned alley and on the alley enriched with manure allowed us to investigate the Manning’s coefficient variations depending on the manure presence on the alleys. Differences on measured and calculated velocity values obtained through the application of the Chezy formula are attributed to the choice of the Manning coefficient n value equal to 0.02. The calculated velocity values were always less than those measured, yield an under-estimation of the velocity and then a minor cleaning actions.

Technical and Economical Analysis of Manure Management in Loose Housing Systems for Dairy Cows

Manure management affects work organization, costs, hygiene and animal welfare on dairy farms; for this reason new cowsheds should be planned according to specific conditions and requirements of farms by comparing technical and economical performances for different manure management systems. The main aim of the research was to improve housing systems and manure management in dairy farms in order to favor better conditions of welfare and hygiene of cows, to reduce costs of dairy farms and to produce solid manure. Most dairy farms in Emilia--Romagna need to produce solid and liquid manure instead of semi--solid manure for agronomic and environmental reasons. Hygienic conditions of milking cows were monitored in eleven reference dairy farms. Costs of building, equipment, labor, electric usage, machines and litter were calculated and compared for nine standard cowsheds with different lying areas and manure management. Cows’ skin dirtiness is higher in cowsheds with deep bedded and sloped bedded lying areas than in cubicle cowsheds even if the consumption of bedding is higher. In cubicle cowsheds acceptable hygienic conditions for cows cannot be achieved by avoiding the use of bedding or synthetic mattresses. Cubicles with litter and cleaning with automatic scrapers or tractor mounted scraper show low costs for manure management and low cow dirtiness scores. Cubicles with small use of litter, gravity flushing system and mechanical separator can be advisable for large herds.

Poultry farming solutions for a sustainable development of marshlands areas of South Iraq

The Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Systems of University of Florence carried out cooperation projects in the South Iraq, funded by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, focused on the development of rural areas. All the proposed interventions were designed taking into account some key points, such as the development of sustainable farming systems, the protection of the environment, the empowerment of women role. Among the main activities, a particular importance is given to the simple solutions for poultry breeding that represents an important economic resource for many farmers and a source of food for a large segment of the population. Therefore the main aim of the project was to define new building solutions to apply in the area of marshlands. A mobile poultry shelter was designed and built to meet the demand for meat and eggs from a typical rural family. This shelter was designed to be used for extensive breeding, with animals free to graze outside during the day. A suitable self-building methodology was applied to obtain results from farmers without specific skills for wood construction thanks to which they learn the appropriate way to build poultry shelters. As conclusion, poultry breeding can be spread in the area of marshlands using the simple selfbuilding structures presented in the study.

Productive performance of broilers at the final stage of breeding submitted to different levels of metabolizable energy in different thermal environments

The Brazilian poultry industry is an activity in constant development due to the high indices of productive efficiency. The accelerated evolution of poultry production has allowed to obtain early and very efficient broilers able to convert different foods into animal protein. However, due to this intensive breeding system, a series of metabolic and management problems appeared, with emphasis on thermal stress. The objective of this work was to evaluate the physiological responses of broiler chickens in the final stage of breeding (21 to 42 days of life), submitted to two thermal conditions, one representative of the thermoneutrality situation (T1) and one giving a situation of cyclic stress by heat (T2). For each experimental thermal condition, the birds were submitted to different levels of metabolizable energy of 3,050, 3,125, 3,200, 3,275 kcal kg-1. At 28, 35 and 42 days, the birds and the feed leftovers were weighed to measure the performance variables: CR (feed intake), GP (weight gain) and CA (feed conversion), viability of the rearing (Vb), productive efficiency index (PEI). As conclusions, the GP was 13.6% higher for the birds maintained at the thermoneutrality situation T1. The PEI was 32.5% higher for the birds maintained in T1 condition, when compared to those kept in T2. However, both in thermoneutral and in heat stress conditions, the increase in the level of metabolizable energy in the diet did not influence the performance and the productive efficiency index of broiler chickens aged between 21 and 42 days of age.

Simplified Method for the Characterization of Rectangular Straw Bales (RSB) Thermal Conductivity

This research aims to design and implement tools and methods focused at the assessment of the thermal properties of full size Rectangular Straw Bales (RSB) of various nature and origin, because their thermal behaviour is one of the key topics in market development of sustainable building materials. As a first approach a method based on a Hot-Box in agreement with the ASTM C1363 – 11 standard was adopted. This method was found to be difficult for the accurate measurement of energy flows. Instead, a method based on a constant energy input was developed. With this approach the thermal conductivity of a Rectangular Straw-Bale (RSB λ) can be determined by knowing the thermal conductivity of the materials used to build the chamber and the internal and external temperature of the samples and of the chamber. A measurement a metering chamber was built and placed inside a climate chamber, maintained at constant temperature. A known quantity of energy was introduced inside the metering chamber. A series of thermopiles detects the temperature of the internal and external surfaces of the metering chamber and of the specimens allowing to calculate the thermal conductivity of RSB in its natural shape. Different cereal samples were tested. The values were found consistent with those published in scientific literature.

Use of Radio Frequency Identification Active Technology to Monitor Animals in Open Spaces

Abstract Recent testing of an active radio frequency identification (RFID) system within an outdoor fenced-enclosure housing four fattening pigs is described. The system is a modular active-RFID system composed by marker, reader and beacon tag. The enclosure was divided into three areas using three marker’s loop-antennas. These areas were the pigs’ feeding, drinking and resting areas. The duration in seconds verified by video recordings that individual animals attended in the zones outlined by the markers was compared with the duration acquired by the active-RFID system. The results indicate an acceptable accuracy of position-data, as overall 5% underestimation was achieved. Different levels of precision were achieved by the active-RFID system according to the feeding, drinking and resting areas monitored. In particular, problems were encountered due to the behaviour of the pigs surrounding the perimeter of the marked areas, the size and positioning of the tag on the pig’s collar, and other software, hardware and calibration issues some of which may be overcome. These issues, together with the cost, are main limitation when using this technology.

Evaluating Thermal Performance of a Photovoltaic-integrated Roofing System for Livestock Buildings: Comparison with Conventional Coverings

An alternative constructive solution for photovoltaic integration in the roof, which enhances thermal performance of the building during the hot period is presented. To reduce the diurnal heat load and to increase the capacity of discharging heat through the roof at night, the proposed roofing solution was equipped with a ventilated interspace. The roof consisted of two different layers: the top cover was made up of PV modules (m-Si) and the lower layer consisted of fissured wooden boards. A scale model was realized to test the performance of this solution during the hot period in comparison with other two different types of covers: simple PV modules; insulating sandwich panels.

Improvement of Animal Welfare in Swine Growing – Finishing Facilities

Nine pig farms were selected for execution of the experimental trials from a sample of 40 farms for nproduction of typical Italian heavy hogs: 5 farms with only the growing-fattening phases; 4 farms with the whole nproductive cycle. In these farms analyses were carried out to evaluate environmental conditions in the breeding nfacilities (“environmental diagnosis”). It was possible to identify the houses with a high hazard for health and/or nwelfare of pigs. Subsequently a detailed survey was executed, concerning the following parameters: a) nproductive performances; b) microclimatic conditions; c) behavior patterns; d) health state. nSolutions for improving animal welfare were suggested for the different facilities, concerning different aspects: nstructures, equipment, feed distribution systems, management, etc. After the adoption of the advised solutions nby the pig breeders, a new survey was carried out in the different facilities, in order to verify the effectiveness in nreal situations. On the basis of this study a guide for the technicians of the extension services was produced, in nwhich the useful solutions for improving animal welfare are described. The guide is presented as CD-Rom and nwill be put also on the web.