Estimating the availability of nutrients from processed swine lagoon solids through incubation studies

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1999 | No Comments

Savaging in Gilts and Sows

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Humidity control strategies for winter conditions

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Most control systems are temperature controlled, relying on constant minimum ventilation rate (MVR). A survey on the different conventional control systems used was conducted. Less than half of those surveyed used the recommended MVR settings. Under or overestimating MVR settings can negatively affect relative humidity (RH) and contaminant concentrations in the barn. A system that could automatically adjust ventilation according to room humidity and improve the overall conditions in the building and optimize energy requirements would be very useful. A computer model was developed to evaluate the benefits of temperature and humidity control (THC) systems that take into account the room RH over a more conventional temperature control (TC) system. Simulations comparing heating and ventilation systems were based on average temperature, energy demand and respective fluctuations of humidity and CO2 concentrations. Overall, the strategy selected as being optimum was THC with proportional control, a 75% RH set point and a proportional band of 5%.

Prevalence of severe welfare problems in horses that arrive at slaughter plants.

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Welfare of food restricted male and female turkeys.

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Factors affecting the Release and Concentration of Dust in Pig Houses

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Effects of straw bedding and high fibre diets on the behaviour of floor fed group-housed sows.

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Gestating sows are restricted fed to limit excessive body fat but this results in a sustained level of hunger. Hungry sows remain active and aggression both during feeding and at other times of the day may increase. Hunger is also a cause of stereotypic or pen-directed oral behaviours. This study examined two management methods that could be used to reduce hunger related aggression and pen-directed oral behaviours. The sows were housed in groups of 7 on solid floored pens with ample room (3.7 m2/sow). Five groups were assigned to each of four treatment combinations, representing a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Sows were either bedded with straw or not. They were either fed a high fibre diet (including sugar beet pulp), or equivalent energy in a low fibre diet. Feed was dropped into the pen once a day in such a way that it was widely dispersed throughout the lying area. Sows bedded on straw spent more time standing during the 2 hours after feeding, and had higher levels of aggression compared to those without straw. However, the presence of straw reduced the incidence of pen-directed oral behaviour. Thus, straw was beneficial in terms of pen-directed behaviour, but resulted in greater aggression. High fibre diets did not affect aggression when compared to standard diets, but sows on high-fibre diets were less active several hours after feeding and less involved in pen-directed oral behaviour. Both straw and high-fibre diets appear to reduce pen-directed diets, probably through a decrease in hunger, but straw bedding increased the level of aggression in floor fed sows.

Reduction of Ammonia Emissions and Optimization of the Stable Ait Temperature by Using Earth-Tube Heat Exchanges

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Near-Infrared Sensing of Manure Nutrients

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Near infared sensing has been used in the grain industry for 30 years to test moisture and protein content of grain, recentlt has been developed in order to analyze grain based on its digestible energy content. The objective of this study was to determine if near infared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations could effectively predict total solids, TKN, NO3-N, phosphoros and potassium in three types of manure: liquid swine pit manure, swine lagoon effluent and dry beef feedlot manure.

An NIRSystems 6500 Scanning monochromator, manufactured by FOSS NIR Systems, was calibrated against wet chemistry analysis data, using partial least squares regression analysis. This study showed that NIR is a potentially usable method to determine manure nutrient and solids concentrations in liquid and solid swine manure. Although further work will be necessary to refine procedures results are encouraging for this type of technology to accurately predict manure nutrient content.

A Sense of Swatch

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An initiative-funded strategy by Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative is gathering collection information used in collecting air samples to measure odour. Roberta York is working on a system that collects odour samples on swatches of fabric. Currently different types of fabric are being evaluated to determine which has the best structure to capture odour. According to York, ” this will give us a standardized method of objective sensory teasting.” A samll circular swatch of fabric is inserted into a cylindrical container which is attached to a hand-held pump. This pump draws air through the swatch and seals the odour sample in the container, and the odour would be quantified in the lab through olfactometry. According to York, this provided everyone an inexpensive test, researchers, engineers and others will be able to stody odour samples more easily.