Air velocity alters broiler performance under harsh environmental conditions.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments

The effect of air velocity on weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency was studied in male broiler chickens exposed to a constant temperature of 35 oC, and relative humidity of 60%, and continuous illumination from 4 through 7 wk of age. In two separate trials, air velocity of 0.5, 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 m/s (Trial 1) and 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 m/s (Trial 2) were used. The fifth week was used for acclimation to the targeted environmental conditions. Weight gain was significantly higher in broilers exposed to air velocity of 1.5 and 2.0 m/s in both trials, which coincided with significantly higher feed intake and feed efficiency. Exposure to the low air velocity (0.5 and 1.0 m/s) resulted in weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency that were less than those of broilers exposed to high air velocity (2.5 and 3.0 m/s). In all treatments, broilers developed hyperthermia, but there were not significant differences in body temperature among the birds. It can be concluded that air velocity has a significant effect on broiler performance, the optimal air velocity was found to be 1.5 and 2.0 m/s.

It's Not "Waste" Anymore!

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The article profiles a Saskatchewan company that recycles hog slurry into heat and energy. Clear Green Biotechnologies promises to make traditional waste management methods obsolete. Minimizing lagoon construction, no danger of groundwater contanimation and quick startup are some of the benefits. The heart of the solution is Biorek, Bioscan’s organic waste refinery. Biorek’s plants convert hog slurry into usable energy, fertilizer components, and clean water. The waste separation and conversion system (Biorek) has been established through joint ventures in many countries.With Western Canada’s increase in livestock production, the companies process can play an important role. With the money saved over lagoon and other systems, farmers will have the capital to take an equity position in the plant and even earn returns from it. Perhaps this system could sell energy into the provincial power grid because as “green” energy it could market at a premium.

Economic impact of a ban on the use of over the counter antibioticsin U.S. swine rations

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Organic livestock farming: A critical review

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The goal of organic livestock farming is to produce a high quality product in the most environmentally and animal-friendly ways. With an increasing number of consumers that demand that products be produced this way, organic farming has an established market. Organic farming has been shown to reduce pollution and nutrient losses. However, the health of dairy cows, for example, was not found to differ between conventional and organic systems. The animal welfare standards in organic farming enable good quality of life for the animals. Product quality does not appear to be related to the production system. The author concludes that the method of organic farming improves environmental and animal welfare aspects of livestock production over conventional production. However, there does not appear to be a difference in animal health and product quality between the two production systems. These two factors seem more related to individual farm management. There appears to be more qualification required to be successful at organic farming, and therefore more risk of failing to meet the demands of consumers. Therefore, quality assurance programs are important to ensure that consumer demands are being met.

Utilisation of whole cassava plant in the diets of growing pigs in the tropics

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Activation of the Immune System is the Pivotal Event in the Production of Wasting Disease in Pigs Infected with Porcine Circovirus-2 (PCV-2)

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Manure Management in Zero Till Systems

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A sound manure nutrient management plan requires knowing what is in the manure, availability of nutrients in the soil, manure nutrients and fertilizer to be applied to meet crop nutrient demand, strategy for application, and record keepping and monitoring. A sound long term approach to efficient and environmentally friendly use of manure nutrients is to apply at rates which balance with crop demand and use over time. In the short term, rates of manure appropriate for next year’s crop may be calculated based on the anlysis of the manure content and predicted availability of the manure nutrients to be applied along with a soil test and required rates for individual nutrients as used for application of commercial fertilizer.

With a source of fertilizer such as liquid swine manure in which much of the nitrogen is contained in immediately availbable plant form ammonium, similar to commercial fertilizer the application in late fall or spring is desirable in order to reduce the opportunity for conversion of ammonium to the nitrate form which is more suseptible to leaching and dentrification. To reduce the potential for losses, these manures should be applied as close to the timeof plant nutrient demand as possible. Some challenges are faced in dealing with manure as a fertilizrer and soil amendment, including the inherent variability in manure, its low nutrient content and constrictions in transportation and application technology.

Producing Quality Compost from Livestock Manure

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Composting is the aerobic (oxygen requiring) decomposition of manure or other organic materials in the thermophilic temperature range of 104 a

Effect of supplemental phytase and ideal dietary amino acid ratios in covered and hulless-barley-based diets on pig performance and excretion of phosphorus and nitrogen in manure.

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A total of 144 (72 barrows + 72 gilts) crossbred pigs were used to determine the effect of feeding supplemental phytase and ideal dietary amino acid ratios in covered barley (CB) or hulless barley (HB)-based diets on growth performance, carcass quality, and excretion of phosphorus and nitrogen in manure during the grower and finisher periods. The three experimental grower and finisher diets were: 1) control diet (CB or HB) with Ca:P ratios according to National Research Council (NAS-NRC 1988), 2) the same as diet 1 but without added inorganic P, but supplemented with phytase (Novo Nordisk, Denmark) at 500 FTU kg-1, 3) the same as diet 2 with reduced dietary protein level, and supplemental amino acids lysine, threonine, and methionine to provide ideal dietary amino acid ratios of 0.70 for threonine to lysine and 0.30 for methionine to lysine. All diets were fed as pellets ad libitum in self-feeders with free access to drinking water. The ADG was not different (P > 0.10) between CB and HB or among the treatment diets during the grower, finisher and combined grower-finisher periods. The gain-to-feed ratios were higher (P < 0.01) for HB than for CB diets. They were also higher (P < 0.05) for diet 3 than for diet 1 during the finisher and combined grower-finisher periods. Carcass index and dressing percent were not different (P > 0.10) among the treatment diets. Supplemental phytase decreased (P < 0.05) the excretion of P during both grower and finisher periods. The combination of phytase and dietary ideal amino acid ratios decreased (P < 0.01) the excretion of both P and N. The ammonia and hydrogen sulphide production in stored liquid manure was not different among the diets.

Effect of Reducing Dietary Protein Level and Adding Amino Acids on Performance and Nitrogen Excretion of Early-Finishing Barrows

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This study was designed to evaluate the effect of reducing the protein level of late finishing pigs by 4-5% on growth performance, carcass characteristics and N excretion. The results indicate that dietary protein levels and N excretion can be reduced significantly without affecting pig performance when diets are supplemented with lysine, threonine, tryptophan and methionine. From a production standpoint, this means that a producer needs 38.4 % less land to spread his manure on if the nutrient management plan is based on N. However, amino acid levels need to be based on gram/day intake to avoid problems occurring with differences in feed intake causing an amino acid deficiency.