Broiler surface temperature distribution of 42 day old chickens

Abstract

Broiler chickens in Brazil are generally reared from 1 to 42 days when they are exposed to procedures such as fasting, harvesting, crating and transport to slaughter. Maintaining homeostasis is of great importance for broiler survival under harsh environment especially prior to slaughter. Heat loss varies in the distinct parts of the body during the growth period, and it is related to the air temperature of the environment and to the amount of feather covering. This research aimed to study the surface temperature distribution using infrared thermographic image processing to characterize 42 day old broiler chicken surface temperature prior to slaughter. Broilers were reared for 42 days and prior to harvest and transport to slaughter the infrared surface temperature was recorded along the day. Data from the thermograms taken in feather and featherless regions were compared during the 42 nd day of growth. High correlation between featherless regions and air temperature was found showing that these areas respond fast to changes in the rearing environment. Two functions were developed for predicting both surface temperature for featherless and feather covered areas of the broiler body parts. Key words: thermal comfort, heat loss, thermoregulation, infrared thermography Distribuição da temperatura superficial de frangos de corte com 42 dias de idade RESUMO: No Brasil frangos de corte são normalmente alojados de 1 até 42 dias, quando são expostos a procedimentos como: jejum, apanha, colocação em caixas e transporte até o abate. Manter a homeostase do corpo é de grande importância para a sobrevivência de frangos de corte sob ambiente quente, especialmente na 7ª semana de crescimento. A perda de calor varia nas partes do corpo e está relacionada à temperatura do ar e à cobertura de penas. Avaliou-se a distribuição da temperatura superficial usando o processamento de imagens de câmera termográfica infravermelho, para caracterizar a temperatura superficial de frangos de corte de 42 dias de idade, no período anterior à apanha para o abate. Os frangos foram alojados de 1 a 42 dias e, antes de serem apanhados e transportados para o abate, foram registradas temperaturas superficiais infravermelho durante o dia.. Os resultados dos termogramas das regiões com penas e sem penas foram comparados, durante o 42º dia. Alta correlação entre regiões sem penas e a temperatura ambiente foi encontrada, mostrando que estas áreas respondem rapidamente a alterações no ambiente do alojamento. Duas funções foram desenvolvidas para predizer a temperatura superficial das regiões com e sem penas, do corpo de frangos com 42 dias, sendo conhecida a temperatura do ar do ambiente. Palavras-chave: conforto térmico, perda de calor, termorregulação, termografia infravermelha

Productive, Qualitative, and Physiological Aspects of Layer Hens Fed with Propolis

“…Mean body Ts varied according to rearing ambient temperature (Table 5) and was not affected by dietary propolis addition. Similar values are reported in the current literature when rearing ambient temperatures are around 40 ºC (Mustaf et al, 2008;Nääs et al, 2010). Results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation.…”

“…The adopted emissivity value for the tiles was 0.92 (Nääs et al, 2001). For calculating bird Ts, points were selected in feathered areas (neck and trunk) and featherless areas (comb, wattle and eyes), using the emissivity value of 0.94 for feathered areas and 0.95 for featherless areas, and the camera was placed at 0.72m distant from the birds (Nääs et al, 2010). Ambient temperature and relative humidity were recorded twice weekly at 07h00min and 13h00min, using a digital temperature and relative humidity recorder (Amprobe, Everett, U.S.A.).…”

“…These rearing conditions may induce heat stress, and are associated with high body surface temperature (Ts) values (Nääs et al, 2010). However, layer performance was not affected (p>0.05).…”

“…Live performance and egg quality parameters are commonly used to evaluate the effects of rearing conditions on layers (Alves et al, 2007;Mustaf et al, 2008;Nääs et al, 2010). Worldwide, researchers have studied different types of feed additives to try to mitigate heat stress and to improve hen welfare (Garcia et al, 2002;Galal et al, 2008;Seven, 2008).…”

Incidence of Pododermatitis in Broiler Reared under Two Types of Environment

“…During pododermatitis scoring, footpad surface temperature (FPST, ºC) of each individual bird was registered to assess inflammation. The infrared camera was positioned at 1 m distance from the target, and the adopted emissivity of skin adopted was 0.95, and 0.91 for the litter (Cangar et al, 2008;Nääs et al, 2010).Footpad surface temperature were recorded in five selected points around footpad using the TESTO software.…”