Progress 04/15/11 to 04/14/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The scientific community (researchers and extension personnel), egg producers, allied companies, policy makers, and other stakeholders interested in egg production, and animal welfare and health. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We provided research training to graduate students, undergraduates, veterinary students, technicians, and postdoctoral research associates on this project. Training provided included environmental monitoring, operation of the state-of-the-art measurement and data acquisition systems; catching, handling and assessment of live birds; necropsy methods; data analysis techniques; preparation of technical papers; and presentation of research results at professional and industry stakeholder meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The research results have been disseminated to the poultry industry at producers educational workshops (e.g., Iowa Egg Symposium, Iowa Poultry Association Fall Festival), to the scientific communities through presentations at professional conferences (e.g., American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meetings, North American International Society of Applied Ethology), graduate dissertations, and publication of conference proceedings and peer-reviewed research articles. One company has chosen to adopt our record keeping forms as standard operating procedure for their routine inspections, since it helped them identify problems within the house. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have developed a unique system that automatically tracks individual laying hens in a group setting and records the hen’s behaviors such as perching, nesting, feeding, drinking and movement. The system primarily uses image processing algorithms for detecting and tracking each hen. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is used for recovery of identities of the hens in situations when the vision system fails to track and identify them. This system/tool has enabled and will continue to enable researchers to explore impacts of housing and production schemes on behaviors and potentially well-being of group-housed poultry. One-year continuous monitoring of gaseous and PM concentrations and emissions of two cage-free layer houses was conducted in CA. Each house had two floors and 36,000 Lohnmann brown hens with stocking density of 180 in2/bird. Manure on belts was collected and removed 3× wk. The house environment was controlled by 20 fans and two cooling pads. Ventilations rate (VR) was calculated by house static pressures and operating status of all fans. The results revealed inlet air temp of 17.4±6.5C, inlet air relative humidity (RH) of 61±13%, house temp of 22.0±4.1C, house RH of 55±9%, VR of 4.27±1.48 m3/h-hen, ammonia (NH3) emission rate of 0.29±0.24 g/d-hen, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission rate of 89±14 g/d-hen, PM10 emission rate 159±61 mg/d-hen, and PM2.5 emission rate 19±13 mg/d-hen. Nineteen-month (June 2010–Dec 2011) continuous monitoring of gaseous and PM concentrations and emissions were conducted with two aviary (brown) hen houses (50,000 hens/house) in IA. A state-of-the-art mobile monitoring system was used for the intensive field study, as was used in CA monitoring. Daily indoor aerial concentrations (mean ±SD) were 8.7 ±8.4 ppm NH3, 1,636 ±1,022 ppm CO2, 10.0 ±6.8 ppm methane (CH4), 2.3 ±1.6 mg/m3 PM10, and 0.25 ±0.26 mg/m3 PM2.5. Daily emission rates (g/hen-d) were 0.15 ±0.08 NH3, 75 ±15 CO2, 0.09 ±0.08 CH4, 0.11 ±0.04 PM10, and 0.008 ±0.006 PM2.5. The results of gaseous concentrations and emissions were further strengthened with data from four more aviary (white) hen houses in IA that were assessed periodically over a one-year period using portable monitoring units. The values of NH3 concentrations and emissions were lower than those reported for European aviary houses. The NH3 emissions of the aviary houses in this study were comparable to those of U.S. manure-belt cage houses, which are influenced by manure removal frequency, but are much lower than those of high-rise cage houses. Data from this study provide baseline concentration and emission values for aviary housing systems in the Midwest and CA, and contribute to improvement of the U.S. national air emissions inventory for farm animal operations. Electricity use by the IA aviary houses was divided into different housing components, including ventilation, lighting, and manure-drying. Electricity use for ventilation had the most variation, accounting for 30% of the total electrical demand in the summer but less than 5% in the winter. Manure-drying blowers ran continuously throughout the flock, using approx. 345 kWh/d and accounting for approximately 51% of the annual electricity use. Over the monitoring period, both houses had an average electricity cost of 3.0 cents/kg (or 2.3 cents/dozen) eggs produced (based on $0.09/kWh). The propane use was minimal, less than 425 L (112 gal) in one year or 0.6 mL per kg (0.4 L/dozen) eggs produced. This information is needed for economic analysis of alternative egg production systems. Total heat production (THP) of the brown hens in the IA aviary houses, house-level latent heat production (LHP) or moisture production (MP), house-level sensible heat production (SHP), and respiratory quotient (RQ) were determined from the monitored variables using indirect calorimetry and mass/energy balance, respectively. Variations in THP, LHP/MP, SHP and RQ within the day were delineated. Results of the study showed mean (±SE) THP, house-level LHP, house-level SHP and RQ values of 5.94(±0.09) W/kg, 1.83(±0.03) W/kg, 4.11(±0.08) W/kg, and 0.94(±0.01), respectively, for the aviary housing system. The new data will improve the design and operation of building ventilation, supplemental heating, and ultimately production efficiency of the aviary housing systems. The THP and RQ data are also useful for indirect determination of building ventilation rate using CO2-balance method. Physical evaluations of 1834 hens from cage-free flocks on three farms in IA and CA were carried out using the Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol for poultry. The number of houses sampled on each farm ranged from 2 to 8. Hens were sampled at peak (26–35 wk of age), mid (45–55 wk), and end (65–80 wk) of lay. In addition, two days of mortalities were collected from the producers at each sampling period for necropsy (268 hens total). The live birds were never observed panting, and did not have respiratory abnormalities or external parasites. Some problems were seen at various stages of the flock cycle, but only at relatively low rates: toe damage (approx. 7% of hens), enteritis (1%), skin lesions (9%), comb abnormalities (2%), and feather dirtiness (8%). The major problems observed were feather loss, keel abnormalities, and foot abnormalities, all of which increased with age. By end of lay, more than 1/3 of hens had severe feather loss on their rumps and bellies, and many also had feather loss on the keel, crop and neck areas. Approximately 55% of hens had severe keel deviations by late lay, and a similar percentage had either moderate or severe foot problems. Beak condition was poor in nearly 80% of hens throughout the production cycle, suggesting problems with beak-trimming at the hatchery/pullet stage. The necropsy results generally paralleled the live hen observations: 49% of hens that died had keel bone deformation, 40% had poor feather cover, and 24% had footpad dermatitis. A large proportion of dead hens also showed evidence of cloacal prolapse (31%) and/or vent cannibalism (49%). Enteric disease (11%), respiratory disease (11%) and septicemia (23%) were relatively common findings at the different ages, and 20% of mid-lay hens necropsied had roundworms. Unlike findings in European studies, few hens had external parasites. An important component of laying hen welfare is inspection and removal of compromised and dead hens. This may be a challenge in alternative housing systems, such as in aviary-colony systems, due to difficulties finding individual birds. On the IA farm, caregivers documented the locations of compromised and dead hens found during routine inspections in 4 aviary-colony style houses. Caregivers were provided with standardized inspection data sheets to complete one day/wk for each house throughout the laying cycle, which included the row, pen and location within pen (tier, nest, or litter) where dead and compromised hens were found. Ten datasheets/house were collected for peak lay (26-35 wk), 5 or 6/house for mid-lay (45-55 wk) and 13/house for end of lay (65+ wk). Daily mortality differed over the production cycle, with median 44.0 (27 min, 89 max) hens found during peak lay, 50.5 (21, 79) hens during mid-lay and 168.0 (100, 228) hens during end-of-lay (P<0.00001). Although rows and pens did not differ, dead hens were more frequently found in the middle tiers than other locations within pens (31.9%, p<0.0001). Further investigation is needed to determine if associations result from ease of observation or behavior of compromised birds. Information from this component of the study helps better understand the causes of hen mortality or morbidity in alternative housing systems, which may be used to improve hen well-being in the long run.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Hayes, M.D. H. Xin, H. Li, T. A. Shepherd, and J. P. Stinn. 2014. Electricity and fuel usage of aviary layer houses in the Midwestern USA. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 30(2): 259-266.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Zhao, Y, H. Xin, D. Zhao, W. Zheng, W. Tian, H. Ma, K. Liu, H. Hu, T. Wang, M.L. Soupir. 2014. Free chlorine loss during spray of membrane-less acidic electrolyzed water and its antimicrobial effect on airborne bacteria from poultry house. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 21(2):249-255.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Zheng, W., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, B. Li, R.S. Gates, Y. Zhang and M.L. Soupir. 2014. Airborne particulate matter and bacteria reduction from spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water in an experimental aviary laying-hen housing system. Transactions of the ASABE 57(1):229-236.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Akarmi, A., H. Xin, L. Tang. Automated tracking and behavior quantification of laying hens using 3D computer vision and radio frequency identification technologies. Transactions of the ASABE
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Xin, H., Hayes, M., Zhao, Y., Ibarburu, M., Millman, S., 2013. On aviary hen housing. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare, Rongchang, Chongqing, China, Oct. 19-21, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Parsons, R.L., Curtis, M.R., Mench, J.A., Trampel, D., Xin, H., Millman, S.T., 2014. Location of dead and compromised laying hens in an aviary-colony style housing system. North American Regional Meeting of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Michigan State University, May 30-31, 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Millman, S.T., 2013.On-farm welfare assessment protocols for laying hens and practical considerations. Egg Industry Symposium, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, Nov. 6, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Lin, X. J., R. Zhang, S. Jiang, and H. Xin. 2013. Ventilation rates, environmental conditions, and air emissions of two cage-free layer houses in California. ASABE 2013 Annual International Meeting, July 19-23, Kansas City, MO.
|
Progress 04/15/12 to 04/14/13
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This is the second year of the multi-state, multi-disciplinary research project that systematically assesses aviary hen housing systems. The project comprehensively evaluate the performance of the housing system under Midwest production conditions with regards to animal welfare, environmental impact, bioenergetics, energy use, production economic efficiency, and microbiological quality. Two aviary hen houses in a double-wide building located in Iowa were used in this field study. Each house contained 50,000 Hy-Line brown hens and had a production cycle of 17 to 80 weeks of age. Indoor air quality variables and thermal conditions measured include concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHG) (CO2, N2O, CH4) and particulate matters (PM10 and PM2.5), air temperature, relative humidity, and ventilation rate. Air emissions were determined from the measured concentrations and building ventilation rates. The metabolic rate or total heat production (THP) of the hens were determined using the indirect animal calorimetry technique. House-level moisture production (MP) was determined based on mass balance, and house-level sensible heat production was calculated as the difference between THP and latent heat production (derived from MP). Electricity use for lighting, barn ventilation, manure-drying, and total operation was monitored. Liquid propane fuel use was also monitored. Ten sentinel pens per house were selected for the welfare assessment observations. A modified Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol was performed at peak-, mid- and end-of-lay for each of the 10 sections. Ten hens were selected from each of the sections for individual scoring (n=100). Clinical scoring of bird health (plumage, parasites, injuries and disease) and fearful behavior (avoidance distance testing [ADT] with the middle tier hens) were performed. Keel scores (normal/no deformity or deformity) plumage scores (score range of 0-2; 0=no to slight wear, 1=moderate wear and 2=bare spots >5cm) and avoidance distance testing (distance at which a person can approach before a hen withdraws) were quantified. The progress results have been disseminated to academic communities, producers, allied companies, and the general public through presentations at professional conferences, industry educational workshops, and publication of conference papers. One manuscript is in press for publication, one is under revision for publication, and the third is under peer review. PARTICIPANTS: Hongwei Xin, Morgan Hayes, Yang Zhao, Tim Shepherd, John Stinn, Maro Ibarburu, Lie Tang, Suzanne Millman, Rebecca Parsons, Byron Brehm-Stecher, Darrell Trampel. TARGET AUDIENCES: University researchers, extension personnel, egg producers, allied companies. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: A one-year no-cost extension has been requested and approved to accommodate a later start of certain aspects of the projects and at the cooperator's (UC-Davis) site. This extension, however, does not change the original objectives or scope of the study.
Impacts
Results revealed the following for the aviary houses. Ammonia concentrations may exceed 25 ppm in wintertime. PM concentrations and emissions follow clear diurnal patterns, related to hen activities. Ammonia emissions are between values for manure-belt and high-rise houses. PM10 emissions are higher than those for cage layer barns. New heat and moisture production data are now available for improved building ventilation design. Electricity use in these barns is driven mainly by ventilation fans in warm weather, but by the manure belt blowers in winter. Very small amount of propane (65 gal/yr) was used for heating, though the winter was mild. Compared to Hy-Line brown standards, hens in the aviary houses showed higher mortality, lower hen-day-egg production, lower hen-housed eggs, slightly higher case weight, and better feed conversion. Feed cost accounts for ~ 45% of the total egg production cost (vs. typical 60%) due to higher fixed [housing & equipment] costs. Some welfare parameters changed over time, i.e., keel bone deformities and plumage. Litter was a valuable resource for the hens. However, bird activities on litter and its accumulation also led to increased PM and ammonia generation. The payback period for such a housing system depends on the feed price and egg price. These results show the pros and cons of the aviary system, and areas that need improvement (e.g., high PM levels and emissions, and occasional higher ammonia levels). During this project period, modifications were made to distribute the heated air more evenly in the barns. The information has also allowed us to validate a computer model for predicting supplemental needs and energy cost for such a system under different climatic conditions. The new heat and moisture production data will be used to update engineering practice standards for design of poultry and livestock ventilation system.
Publications
- Hayes, M.D. 2012. Impacts of operating an aviary laying hen house in the Midwestern United States. A PhD dissertation, Iowa Sate University Parks Library, Ames, Iowa, USA.
- Hayes, M.D., H. Xin, H. Li, T.A. Shepherd, Y. Chen, Y. Zhao, and J. P. Stinn. 2012. Ammonia, greenhouse gas, and particulate matter concentrations and emissions of aviary layer houses in the Midwestern USA. In Proc of the 9th International Livestock Environment Symposium, July 8-12, 2012, Valencia, Spain. St Joseph, MI: ASABE
- Hayes, M.D., H. Xin, H. Li, T.A. Shepherd, and J. P. Stinn. Electricity and fuel usage of aviary laying-hen houses in the Midwestern United States. In Proc of the 9th International Livestock Environment Symposium, July 8-12, 2012, Valencia, Spain. St Joseph, MI: ASABE
- Zhao, Y., H. Xin, T.A. Shepherd, M.D. Hayes, and J. P. Stinn. 2012. Characterizing thermal environment, supplemental heat and ventilation needs of alternative laying-hen housing systems. In Proc of the 9th International Livestock Environment Symposium, July 8-12, 2012, Valencia, Spain. St Joseph, MI: ASABE
|
Progress 04/15/11 to 04/14/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Aviary hen housing system is one of the alternative egg production systems that are being used by some U.S. egg producers. The motivation for adopting such a housing system is to improve bird welfare by allowing the hens to exercise natural behaviors, such as foraging, dust-bathing, and perching. However, research-based information on the overall performance and thus sustainability of the system is meager under U.S. production conditions. The objective of this field study was to comprehensively evaluate the performance of the housing system under Midwest production conditions with regards to animal welfare, environmental impact, bioenergetics, energy use, production economic efficiency, and microbiological quality. Two aviary hen houses in a double-wide building located in Iowa were used in this field study. Each house measured 550 ft x 60 ft with a capacity of 50,000 hens (Hy-Line Brown) and had a production cycle of 17 to about 80 weeks of age. Concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHG) (CO2, N2O, CH4) at four locations in each house were measured continually with a fast-response and high-precision photoacoustic multi-gas analyzer. Oxygen concentration was measured with a paramagnetic gas analyzer. Concentrations of PM10 (inhalable dust) and PM2.5 (respirable dust) inside the barns were measured continuously with real-time Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalances equipped with the respective PM head. Building ventilations rate (VR) was determined based on in situ calibrated fan curves with fan assessment numeration systems (FANS). Individual fan curves were established for each stage (1-8). The runtime of fans was recorded continuously with inductive current switches. All data were collected in a data acquisition system. All samples taken at 1 second intervals were averaged to 30-second values and reported to the on-site PC. The metabolic rate or total heat production (THP) of the hens were determined using the indirect animal calorimetry technique. House-level moisture production (MP) was determined based on mass balance, and house-level sensible heat production was calculated as the difference between THP and latent heat production (derived from MP). Electricity use for lighting, barn ventilation, manure-drying, and total operation was monitored. Liquid propane fuel uses was also monitored. Ten sentinel pens per house were selected for the welfare assessment observations. A modified Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol was performed at peak-, mid- and end-of-lay for each of the 10 sections. Ten hens were selected from each of the sections for individual scoring (n=100). Clinical scoring of bird health (plumage, parasites, injuries and disease) and fearful behavior (avoidance distance testing [ADT] with the middle tier hens) were performed. Keel scores (normal/no deformity or deformity) plumage scores (score range of 0-2; 0=no to slight wear, 1=moderate wear and 2=bare spots >5cm) and avoidance distance testing (distance at which a person can approach before a hen withdraws) were quantified. Data collection has been ongoing since April 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Hongwei Xin, Morgan Hayes, Yang Zhao, Lie Tang, Suzanne Millman, Byron Brehm-Stecher, Maro Ibarburu. The project provides training of graduate student (Morgan Hayes) and post-doc (Yang Zhao) and a number of undergraduate students. TARGET AUDIENCES: Researchers, Extension personnel, Egg producers, Allied companies PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Preliminary data to date show that the aviary houses tend to have higher PM and ammonia concentrations as compared to conventional cage, especially manure-belt hen housing systems, especially during cool/cold weather. Ammonia emissions from the aviary houses tend to be higher than those from manure-belt houses but lower than those from high-rise layer houses. The ammonia emissions are lower than those reported on aviary systems in Europe however. The new data on gaseous and PM emissions will help fill the knowledge gaps in the literature and thus improve the U.S. national emissions inventory on agricultural operations. The metabolic rate of the hens and house-level moisture production and sensible heat production rate for the aviary housing system seem comparable to the values found with conventional housing systems. These original heat and moisture production data on brown birds lay a foundation for the design and efficient operation of ventilation, cooling and heating systems for the alternative aviary hen housing. The study will also provide research-based data about the advantages and areas for improvement concerning the alternative (aviary) egg production system. Methods and progress results of the study were disseminated through presentations to egg industry stakeholders. The results will be presented at the Ninth International Livestock Environment Symposium to be held in Valencia, Spain, July 8-12, 2012. Manuscripts will also be prepared for publication review in journals.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|