Avicultura Industrial: Novos Conceitos de Materiais, Concepções e Técnicas Construtivas Disponíveis para Galpões Avícolas Brasileiros Industrial Aviculture: New Concepts of Materials, Conceptions and Constructive Techniques Available for Brazilian Poultry Houses

Ao grande crescimento das fronteiras mercadológicas e ao extraordinário progresso científico verificado na avicultura industrial, contrapõe-se a pouca atenção que se deu, até recentemente, às técnicas de alojamento e, efetivamente, ao ambiente de criação das aves. Somente há questão de sete anos, com a perspectiva do processo de globalização que hoje movimenta a economia mundial, essa indústria passou a buscar, nas instalações e no ambiente, as possibilidades de melhoria no desempenho avícola e a redução dos custos de produção como forma de manter a competitividade. A produção de aves em alta densidade passou a ser imperativa e, dessa forma, a exigência de conforto térmico ambiental, que já havia crescido muito com o aumento da precocidade das aves, tornou-se ainda maior, como conseqüência da elevação da densidade de alojamento. Assim, para se manter competitiva, a indústria avícola brasileira está tendo de evoluir, rapidamente, de uma situação de quase indiferença aos princípios do acondicionamento térmico ambiente, para uma situação em que cada empresa ou integração deve tomar decisões relativas à adoção de concepções arquitetônicas e manejos inovadores, associados a sistemas de acondicionamento térmico naturais e artificiais, compatíveis com a sua realidade. Essas decisões incluem a readequação dos galpões já existentes e a concepção de novas unidades. Seguramente, estamos vivendo o momento de mais intensas transformações dos alojamentos avícolas brasileiros até então presenciado. Do exposto, esse trabalho busca abordar o planejamento, a concepção arquitetônica e os diferentes materiais e técnicas construtivas disponíveis para a indústria avícola brasileira no que diz respeito aos galpões de alojamentos das aves, visando propiciar um melhor acondicionamento térmico ambiente, compatível com as diferentes regiões climáticas brasileiras.<br>To the great growth of the market and the extraordinary scientific progress verified in the Brazilian poultry industry, little attention was given, until recently, to the lodging techniques and, indeed, to the environment of growing birds. This is only a seven year-old subject, and with the perspective of the globalization process that today moves the world economy, this industry started to look for facilities and environment, seeking the improvement possibilities in the poultry activity and the reduction of the production costs as a form of maintaining the competitiveness. The high-density production of birds became imperative and, this way, the demand of environmental thermal comfort, which had already grown a lot with the increase of the precocity of the birds, became even larger, as a consequence of the increase of lodging density. Thus, to continue being competitive, the Brazilian poultry industry has to develop, as soon as possible, from the situation of almost indifference of the beginning of the thermal atmosphere conditioning, to a situation in which each company or integration should take its own decisions of adoption of architectural conceptions and innovations associated with systems of thermal, natural and artificial conditioning, compatible with its reality. Decisions that already include the modifications of the existing houses and the conception of new units. We are witnessing, for sure, the moment of more intense transformations of the Brazilian poultry lodgings. From what was exposed, this work intends to approach the planning, the architectural conception and the different materials and available constructive techniques for the Brazilian poultry industry that refers to the lodgings of the birds, seeking to propitiate a better conditioned thermal atmosphere, compatible with the different Brazilian climatic areas

Correlations among behavior, performance and environment in broiler breeders using multivariate analysis

Animal welfare issues have received much attention not only to supply farmed animal requirements, but also to ethical and cultural public concerns. Daily collected information, as well as the systematic follow-up of production stages, produces important statistical data for production assessment and control, as well as for improvement possibilities. In this scenario, this research study analyzed behavioral, production, and environmental data using Main Component Multivariable Analysis, which correlated observed behaviors, recorded using video cameras and electronic identification, with performance parameters of female broiler breeders. The aim was to start building a system to support decision-making in broiler breeder housing, based on bird behavioral parameters. Birds were housed in an environmental chamber, with three pens with different controlled environments. Bird sensitivity to environmental conditions were indicated by their behaviors, stressing the importance of behavioral observations for modern poultry management. A strong association between performance parameters and the behavior "at the nest", suggesting that this behavior may be used to predict productivity. The behaviors of "ruffling feathers", "opening wings", "preening", and "at the drinker" were negatively correlated with environmental temperature, suggesting that the increase of in the frequency of these behaviors indicate improvement of thermal welfare

Correlations between thermal environment and egg quality of two layer commercial strains

Heat stress limits the productivity of laying hens, as reflected by egg production and egg quality. The present study aimed at showing the correlations between egg quality parameters and environmental variables recorded on the day eggs were laid and on the previous days. Birds were housed in battery cages in a commercial poultry house. Main component analyses were used to verify associations between environmental and production variables, and Pearson's linear correlation tests were used to further investigate those associations. Analyses were carried out separately for to layer strains, Dekalb® White and Hy-Line® w36, and the variables egg weight (g), eggshell weight (g), specific gravity (g/cm³) and eggshell percentage (%) were compared with the environmental variables of the same day of the production, and one, two, three, and four days before egg production. Sound intensity measured inside the houses was positively associated with the quality parameters of eggs produced on the next day. Thermal environmental variables affected the egg quality differently in each strain, particularly air temperature, internal roof tile temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity. Ammonia concentration measured inside the houses was lower than 1ppm, and did not affect production performance

Performance and egg quality of Japanese quails submitted to cyclic heat stress

Aiming at evaluating the influence of cyclic temperatures on the performance and egg quality of Japanese quails an experiment was carried out with 480 birds after egg production peak. Birds were housed in a bioclimatic chamber with automatic temperature control that contained two rooms, one maintained at thermoneutral temperature (21 ºC) and the other adjusted for the tested cyclic temperatures (24, 27, 30, 33 and 36 ºC at a time). Each room had a battery of five floors and ten cages, with a capacity of 24 birds per cage, totaling 240 birds per battery. Birds were fed iso-nutritious and iso-caloric diets. Data obtained under the tested cyclic temperatures were compared with those obtained under thermoneutral temperature. At the end of each experimental period (14 days) performance and egg quality parameters were evaluated. A completely randomized experimental design with two treatments (thermoneutral temperature and tested temperature) and ten replicates of 24 birds each. Cyclic increases of 27 ºC and higher in environmental temperature negatively affected bird performance, with reduced feed intake and consequent reductions in egg weight and mass. A cyclic increase of the environmental temperature to 36 ºC reduced the percentage of saleable eggs and egg production