Airborne microorganism level is an important indoor air quality indicator, yet it has not been well documented for laying-hen houses in the United States. As a part of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES) environmental monitoring project, this study comparatively monitored the concentrations and emissions of airborne total and Gram-negative (Gram(-)) bacteria in three types of commercial laying-hen houses, i.e., conventional cage (CC), aviary (AV), and enriched colony (EC) houses, over a period of eight months covering the mid and late stages of the flock cycle. It also delineated the relationship between airborne total bacteria and particulate matter smaller than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10). The results showed airborne total bacteria concentrations (log CFU/m(3)) of 4.7 ± 0.3 in CC, 6.0 ± 0.8 in AV, and 4.8 ± 0.3 in EC, all being higher than the level recommended for human environment (3.0 log CFU/m(3)). The much higher concentrations in AV arose from the presence of floor litter and hen activities on it, as evidenced by the higher concentrations in the afternoon (with litter access) than in the morning (without litter access). The overall means and standard deviation of airborne total bacteria emission rates, in log CFU/[h-hen] (or log CFU/[h-AU], AU = animal unit or 500 kg live weight) were 4.8 ± 0.4 (or 7.3 ± 0.4) for CC, 6.1 ± 0.7 (or 8.6 ± 0.7) for AV, and 4.8 ± 0.5 (or 7.3 ± 0.5) for EC. Both concentration and emission rate of airborne total bacteria were positively related to PM10 Gram(-) bacteria were present at low concentrations in all houses; and only 2 samples (6%) in CC, 7 (22%) samples in AV, and 2 (6%) samples in EC out of 32 air samples collected in each house were found positive with Gram(-) bacteria. The concentration of airborne Gram(-) bacteria was estimated to be <2% of the total bacteria. Total bacteria counts in manure on belt (in all houses) and floor litter (only in AV) were similar; however, the manure had much more Gram(-) bacteria than the litter. The results point out the need to mitigate airborne total bacteria in laying-hen houses, especially in AV houses.
Spray-application of membrane-less acidic electrolyzed water (MLAEW) is a novel technique for disinfection in livestock houses. This study investigated the loss of free chlorine (FC, the major germicidal component in MLAEW) over distance during spray, as affected by air temperature and initial FC concentration. The antimicrobial effect of MLAEW on airborne bacteria from an aviary laying-hen house was examined. MLAEW was prepared with two FC concentrations (app. 15 and 60 mg L-1), and was sprayed at three air temperatures (18, 25, 32°C). The original MLAEW solution and MLAEW aerosols collected at 0, 25, and 50 cm from the spray nozzle were analyzed for FC concentrations. Bacteria were immersed into these MLAEW samples and numerated for viable count after 0.5-, 2-, and 5-min treatments. MLAEW aerosols collected at 0 cm lost 11.7 â€" 13.2% FC as compared to the original MLAEW solution. This initial loss was affected neither by the initial FC concentration (P = 0.13) nor by air temperature (P = 0.57). The rate of FC loss during travelling was 0.79 â€" 0.87 % per centimeter of aerosol travel distance (% cm-1) at 18°C, 1.08 â€" 1.15 % cm-1 at 25°C, and 1.35 â€" 1.49 % cm-1 at 32°C. This travelling loss was affected by air temperature (P = 0.02), but not by initial FC concentration (P = 0.38). Bacteria were completely inactivated in 0.5 min when treated with MLAEW samples with FC > 16.8 mg L-1, in 2 min when FC > 13.8 mg L-1, and in 5 min when FC > 7.2 mg L-1. Airborne bacteria from aviary hen house can be effectively inactivated by MLAEW with adequate FC concentration and contact time. During spray, antimicrobial efficacy of MLAEW aerosols decreased over distance due to FC loss which exacerbates at higher air temperature.
Contribution of carbon dioxide (CO2) production from manure or litter can be significant relative to animal metabolic CO2 production in housing systems with less frequent excretion removal. Such CO2 contribution should be accounted for in order to improve the accuracy of estimating building ventilation rate (VR) and animal bioenergetics based on CO2 mass balance. The objective of this study was to investigate the thermal conditions (temperature and relative humidity, or RH), production, moisture content (MC), and CO2 production of laying-hen manure on collection belts and on litter in an aviary house. Hens spent about 15.25 h day-1 in the aviary colony where their manure was deposited on the belts, and the remaining 8.75 h day-1 on the litter floor where manure was deposited on belt or litter. Manure belts were operated 1/3 of their length each day.Results show that temperature and RH were, respectively, 1.8 ± 9.3ËšC (mean ± standard deviation) and 79 ± 14% for ambient air, 18.5 ± 1.7ËšC and 76 ± 16% for air near manure on belt, and 19.8 ± 1.5ËšC and 80 ± 17% for air near the litter. The overall daily manure production was 35.8 ± 1.4 g hen-1 day-1 on dry basis, with 90.9% deposited on manure belt and 9.1% on litter floor. MC of manure on belt was 66.4 ± 5.8%, which was significantly higher than 14.6 ± 2.4% for the litter. The combined moisture production from manure on belt and litter was estimated to be 22.6 g day-1 hen-1. The CO2 production from as-is manure was 0.10 ± 0.06 ml s-1 kg-1 (or 0.32 ± 0. 20 ml s-1 kg-1 on dry basis), whereas CO2 production from as-is litter was much lower, 0.02 ± 0.02 ml s-1 kg-1 (or 0.03 ± 0.02 ml s-1 kg-1 on dry basis). Without litter removal, CO2 production from manure and litter could amount to as high as 8.1% of the hen’s respiration CO2 at 60 week of age. This potentially significant contribution should be considered when estimating VR or animal bioenergetics using CO2 mass balance method in aviary housing systems. KeywordsManure/litter management, whole-house animal calorimetry, CO2 balance Disciplines Agriculture | Bioresource and Agricultural EngineeringThis conference proceeding is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_conf/317The authors are solely responsible for the content of this technical presentation. The technical presentation does not necessarily reflect the official position of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), and its printing and distribution does not constitute an endorsement of views which may be expressed. Technical presentations are not subject to the formal peer review process by ASABE editorial committees; therefore, they are not to be presented as refereed publications. Citation of this work should state that it is from an ASABE conference presentation. (Conference Name Results show that temperature and RH were, respectively, 1.8 ± 9.3˚C (mean ± standard deviation) and 79 ± 14% for ambient air, 18.5 ± 1.7˚C and 76 ± 16% for
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