Field Evaluation of a Sprinkling System for Cooling Commercial Laying Hens in Iowa

An economical, low–pressure (276 kPa, 40 psi) sprinkling system was tested for its efficacy of cooling laying hens in a commercial high–rise layer house [14 Ü 130 m (46 Ü 426 ft)] in Iowa. The sprinklers, rated at 2.1 mL/s (2 gal/h) each, were equally spaced at 3 m (10 ft) apart and 2.4 m (8 ft) above the floor in each cage aisle of the layer house. They were controlled to operate 10 s every 10 min when the inside temperature exceeded 32 _ C (90 _ F). The system was shown to improve egg production by 2.6% overall and 5.6% for the top deck (P \u3c 0.01). There was no sign of sprinkling damage to eggshell integrity. Autocorrelation analysis has the potential to quantify the impact of heat stress history on subsequent egg production response of the hen. Work is needed to optimize the layout of the sprinklers for uniform water distribution and water application rate as a function of environmental conditions

Feeding Behaviors of Laying Hens with or without Beak Trimming

This study quantifies feeding behavior of the W-36 White Leghorn laying hen (77-80 weeks old) as influenced by the management practice of beak trimming. The feeding behavior is characterized by a newly developed measurement system and computational algorithm. Non-trimmed (NT) and beak trimmed (BT) birds showed similar meal size. BT birds spent longer time at the feeder, which is compatible to their slower ingestion rate of 0.9 g/min vs. 1.3 g/min of the NT type. Compared with NT bird, the BT bird had smaller time intervals between meals, 200 vs. 450 s. By scientifically characterizing the feeding behavior of laying hens, baseline information will result that may help better quantify the welfare of birds

Progressive Feeding Behaviors of Pullets with or without Beak Trimming

This study quantifies feeding behavior of W-98 White Leghorn pullets (1-3 weeks old) as influenced by the management practice of beak trimming. The feeding behavior was characterized using a newly developed measurement system and computational algorithm. Beak trimmed (BT) pullets and non-trimmed (NT) pullets exhibited significantly different eating behavior over the ages of 8 to 21 days with regard to meal size and meal duration. Beak-trimmed birds tended to eat larger and longer meals, although the differences between the BT and NT birds were not constant with age (significant interaction between beak type and age, P\u3c0.05). No significant differences across beak types or ages were detected for ingestion rate or interval between meals. The BT and NT pullets had similar amount of daily feeding time (1.1 - 1.2 hr/day). However, the number of meals per day differed, 28 meals/day for the BT pullets vs. 35 meals/day for the NT pullets. Baseline feeding behavior information of this nature may help better quantify and ensure welfare of the animals through exercising proper engineering design or management considerations

Feeding Behaviors of Laying Hens With or Without Beak Trimming

This study quantifies feeding behavior of W-36 White Leghorn laying hens (77 to 80 weeks old) as influenced by the management practice of beak trimming. The feeding behavior was characterized using a newly developed measurement system and computational algorithm. Non-trimmed (NT) and beak-trimmed (BT) hens showed similar daily feed intake and meal size. However, the BT hens tended to spend longer time feeding (3.3 vs. 2.0 h/d, P \u3c 0.01), which coincided with their slower ingestion rate of 0.43 g/min-kg0.75 vs. 0.79 g/min-kg0.75 for the NT counterparts (P \u3c 0.05). The BT hens had shorter time intervals between meals (101 s vs. 151 s, P \u3c 0.01). Selective feeding, as demonstrated by larger feed particles apparent in the leftover feed, was noted for the BT hens. The leftover feed had a lower crude protein/adjusted crude protein content for the BT birds than that for the NT birds (16.7% vs. 18.7%, P \u3c 0.05). In addition, the leftover feed of the BT birds had lower contents in phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and manganese (P \u3c 0.05), although no significant differences were detected in calcium, sodium, or metabolic energy content. Baseline feeding behavior data of this nature may help quantify and ensure the welfare of animals through exercising proper engineering design and/or management considerations

Community analysis of biofilms on flame-oxidized stainless steel anodes in microbial fuel cells fed with different substrates

BackgroundThe flame-oxidized stainless steel anode (FO-SSA) is a newly developed electrode that enhances microbial fuel cell (MFC) power generation; however, substrate preference and community structure of the biofilm developed on FO-SSA have not been well characterized. Herein, we investigated the community on FO-SSA using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragment in acetate-, starch-, glucose-, and livestock wastewater-fed MFCs. Furthermore, to analyze the effect of the anode material, the acetate-fed community formed on a common carbon-based electrode—carbon-cloth anode (CCA)—was examined for comparison.ResultsSubstrate type influenced the power output of MFCs using FO-SSA; the highest electricity was generated using acetate as a substrate, followed by peptone, starch and glucose, and wastewater. Intensity of power generation using FO-SSA was related to the abundance of exoelectrogenic genera, namely Geobacter and Desulfuromonas, of the phylum Proteobacteria, which were detected at a higher frequency in acetate-fed communities than in communities fed with other substrates. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB)—Enterococcus and Carnobacterium—were predominant in starch- and glucose-fed communities, respectively. In the wastewater-fed community, members of phylum Planctomycetes were frequently detected (36.2%). Exoelectrogenic genera Geobacter and Desulfuromonas were also detected in glucose-, starch-, and wastewater-fed communities on FO-SSA, but with low frequency (0–3.2%); the lactate produced by Carnobacterium and Enterococcus in glucose- and starch-fed communities might affect exoelectrogenic bacterial growth, resulting in low power output by MFCs fed with these substrates. Furthermore, in the acetate-fed community on FO-SSA, Desulfuromonas was abundant (15.4%) and Geobacter had a minor proportion (0.7%), while in that on CCA, both Geobacter and Desulfuromonas were observed at similar frequencies (6.0–9.8%), indicating that anode material affects exoelectrogenic genus enrichment in anodic biofilm.ConclusionsAnodic community structure was dependent on both substrate and anode material. Although Desulfuromonas spp. are marine microorganisms, they were abundant in the acetate-fed community on FO-SSA, implying the presence of novel non-halophilic and exoelectrogenic species in this genus. Power generation using FO-SSA was positively related to the frequency of exoelectrogenic genera in the anodic community. Predominant LAB in saccharide-fed anodic biofilm caused low abundance of exoelectrogenic genera and consequent low power generation

Field Evaluation of a Sprinkling System for Cooling Commercial Laying Hens in Iowa

An economical, low–pressure (276 kPa, 40 psi) sprinkling system was tested for its efficacy of cooling laying hens in a commercial high–rise layer house [14 Ü 130 m (46 Ü 426 ft)] in Iowa. The sprinklers, rated at 2.1 mL/s (2 gal/h) each, were equally spaced at 3 m (10 ft) apart and 2.4 m (8 ft) above the floor in each cage aisle of the layer house. They were controlled to operate 10 s every 10 min when the inside temperature exceeded 32 _ C (90 _ F). The system was shown to improve egg production by 2.6% overall and 5.6% for the top deck (P Journal Paper No J–18811 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Iowa State University, Project No. 3311. Mention of vendor or product names is for presentation clarity and does not imply endorsement by the authors or Iowa State University nor exclusion of other suitable products. This article is from Applied Engineering in Agriculture 17, no. 2 (2001): 217–221.</p

Concentrations of Aerosol Numbers and Airborne Bacteria, and Temperature and Relative Humidity, and Their Interrelationships in a Tie-Stall Dairy Barn

Aerosol particles and airborne microorganisms are crucial factors of indoor air quality. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the interrelationships among aerosol numbers, various types of airborne bacteria, temperature, and relative humidity (RH) to decide which parameters have more significant relationships among them. The concentrations of aerosol numbers, airborne total aerobic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the indoor air, as well as indoor and outdoor temperatures and RH, were assessed each week for a total of 20 days in a tie-stall dairy barn during the summer season in Tochigi, Japan. The mean concentrations of the fine aerosol numbers (0.3&ndash;2.0 &micro;m) were greater than the mean concentrations of coarse aerosol numbers (5.0&ndash;10.0 &micro;m). Among the airborne total aerobic bacteria, the mean concentration of airborne S. aureus was higher compared with airborne E. coli. More significant positive associations were found between outdoor environmental temperatures and aerosol numbers rather than indoor temperatures and aerosol numbers. All three types of airborne bacteria were associated with both outdoor and indoor environmental temperatures. These findings are crucial in the mitigation of aerosol numbers and airborne bacteria in the indoor air of dairy barns

Feeding Behaviors of Laying Hens with or without Beak Trimming

This study quantifies feeding behavior of the W-36 White Leghorn laying hen (77-80 weeks old) as influenced by the management practice of beak trimming. The feeding behavior is characterized by a newly developed measurement system and computational algorithm. Non-trimmed (NT) and beak trimmed (BT) birds showed similar meal size. BT birds spent longer time at the feeder, which is compatible to their slower ingestion rate of 0.9 g/min vs. 1.3 g/min of the NT type. Compared with NT bird, the BT bird had smaller time intervals between meals, 200 vs. 450 s. By scientifically characterizing the feeding behavior of laying hens, baseline information will result that may help better quantify the welfare of birds.This is an ASAE Meeting Presentation, Paper No. 024070.</p