Assessment of broiler surface temperature variation when exposed to different air temperatures

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect of the air temperature variation on the mean surface temperature (MST) of 7-to 35-day-old broiler chickens using infrared thermometry to estimate MST, and to study surface temperature variation of the wings, head, legs, back and comb as affected by air temperature and broiler age. One hundred Cobb ® broilers were used in the experiment. Starting on day 7, 10 birds were weekly selected at random, housed in an environmental chamber and reared under three distinct temperatures (18, 25 and 32 ºC) to record their thermal profile using an infrared thermal camera. The recorded images were processed to estimate MST by selecting the whole area of the bird within the picture and comparing it with the values obtained using selected equations in literature, and to record the surface temperatures of the body parts. The MST estimated by infrared images were not statistically different (p > 0.05) from the values obtained by the equations. MST values significantly increased (p < 0.05) when the air temperature increased, but were not affected by bird age. However, age influenced the difference between MST and air temperature, which was highest on day 14. The technique of infrared thermal image analysis was useful to estimate the mean surface temperature of broiler chickens.

Behavior of Japanese quail in different air velocities and air temperatures

“…Castro (2014), when working with Japanese laying quail subjected to temperatures of 20, 22, 24, and 26°C, observed signs of cold discomfort at 20°C. Birds in discomfort caused by cold show physiological changes, such as maintaining minimal blood circulation to avoid losing heat to the environment, and thus remain still as a thermoregulatory defense mechanism (Nascimento et al, 2011;Pereira et al, 2015). The behavior "eat" did not differ statistically between moderate cold and thermal comfort at any air velocity either in the morning or afternoon (Figures 1 and 2).…”

Termografia infravermelho na estimativa de conforto térmico de frangos de corte

“…A análise termográfica surgiu como técnica de mapeamento da temperatura superficial das aves, principalmente por ser uma forma de medição não invasiva, propiciando também a estimativa de perda de calor (Nascimento et al, 2011). A técnica tem grande importância no cálculo das transferências de calor e de massa entre as aves e o ambiente ao seu redor para o dimensionamento de sistemas de ventilação e resfriamento evaporativo, tal como a inferência sobre o manejo das aves (Aerts et al, 2003;Yahav et al, 2004).…”

Heat loss in one day old pullets inside a hatchery

“…Heat loss to rearing environment is related to bird surface temperature consisting on sum of each part heat loss. The less feathered or non-feathered parts might promote higher sensible heat loss (NASCIMENTO et al, 2011a). In the present study, sensible heat loss differed for each pullet body part (p < 0.05) ( Figure 3).…”