ArticleThe thermal environment inside a broiler house has a great influence on animal welfare
and productivity during the production phase. Among the importance of the chicken litter is the
function of absorbing moisture, provide thermal insulation and provide a soft surface for broilers.
The skin temperature is an important physiological parameter to quantify the thermal comfort of
animals, its variations may occur as a function of thermal variables. So, the aim of this work was
to analyse the magnitude and spatial variability of chicken litter temperature and relative humidity
of the air and to correlate them with the spatial distribution of chicks’ skin surface temperature
throughout the broiler house during the 7th, 14th and 21st days of the chicks’ life, using
geostatistical techniques. The experiment was performed in a commercial broiler house located
in the western mesoregion of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where 28,000 male Cobb chicks were housed.
The heating system consisted of an industrial indirect-fired biomass furnace. The heated air was
inflated by an AC motor, 2,206 W of power, 1,725 RPM. Geostatistical techniques were used
through semivariogram analysis and isochore maps were generated through data interpolation by
kriging. The semivariogram was fitted by the restricted maximum likelihood method. The used
mathematical model was the spherical one. After fitting the semivariograms, the data were
interpolated by ordinary kriging. The semivariograms along with the isochore maps allowed
identifying the non-uniformity of spatial distribution of the broiler litter temperature throughout
the broiler house for 3 days of chicks’ life. It was observed that skin surface presented a positive
correlation with the litter temperature and a negative correlation with the air humidity. The
semivariograms along with the isochore maps allowed identifying the non-uniformity of spatial
distribution of the litter temperature, air humidity and skin temperature of chicks throughout the
broiler aviary for the three days. In addition, the use of geostatistics and distribution maps made
possible to identify different environmental conditions in regions inside the broiler house that
may harm the development of chicks
