Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Conference
2014 ASABE and CSBE/SCGAB Annual International Meeting
Publication Date
6-2014
DOI
10.13031/aim.20141904027
City
Montréal, QC
Copyright Owner
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Copyright Date
2014
Language
en
Recommended Citation
Zhao, Yang; Xin, Hongwei; Shepherd, Timothy A.; and Li, Hong, "Concentrations of Ammonia, Greenhouse Gases and Particulate Matters in Conventional Cage, Aviary, and Enriched Colony Laying-Hen Houses" (2014). Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Conference Proceedings and Presentations. 396.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_conf/396
Comments
Research concerning comparative environmental impacts between conventional cage and emerging alternative laying-hen housing systems is relatively limited under US production conditions. As an integral part of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES) project, a 27-month continual environmental monitoring (covering two single-cycle flocks) described in this paper quantifies the indoor gaseous and particulate matter (PM) concentrations, thermal environment, and housing ventilation rate (VR) for a conventional cage (CC) house, an aviary (AV) house, and an enriched colony (EC) house. Results show that indoor temperature and relative humidity (RH) in all three houses were well maintained through proper ventilation management and supplemental heat in wintertime (AV house only). Daily mean(±SD) indoor ammonia (NH3) concentrations were 4.3(±2.6) ppm for CC house, 7.1(±6.3) ppm for AV house, and 2.8(±1.8) ppm for EC house. The NH3 concentrations in the AV house were significantly higher than those in CC or EC house, and occasionally exceeded 25 ppm under cold weather conditions (ambient temperature <7.2°C). Daily mean(±SD) indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) concentrations were, respectively, 2153(±1058) and 11.1(±5.7) ppm for CC house, 2485(±1268) and 11.6(±5.5) ppm for AV house, and 2241(±1145) and 11.8(±5.9) ppm for EC house. The particulate matter (PM) concentrations in AV house were significantly higher than those in CC or EC house. Daily mean (±SD) concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were, respectively, 0.59(±0.16) and 0.035(±0.013) mg m-3 for CC house, 3.95(±2.83) and 0.410(±0.251) mg m-3 for AV house, 0.44(±0.18) and 0.056(±0.021) mg m-3 for EC house. Overall, indoor air quality of the EC house was comparable with that of the CC house; however, the AV house experienced poor indoor air quality, especially during cold weather, resulting from the presence of floor litter and hens activities on it. Therefore searching for mitigation practices to improve indoor air quality in AV housing system is needed.