Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Version

Published Version

Publication Date

2009

Journal or Book Title

Transactions of the ASABE

Volume

52

Issue

6

First Page

2027

Last Page

2032

Abstract

Current and relevant heat and moisture production data for laying hens are necessary for sizing and operating ventilation systems for commercial layer housing. Different stocking densities are being adopted in cage layer facilities, but there is a lack of information concerning the potential impacts of these changes on environmental control. A study was conducted with 24 groups of 48 hens (39 to 46 weeks old) to compare heat and moisture production, via indirect calorimetry, for four different stocking densities (348, 387, 465, or 581 cm2 hen-1; 54, 60, 72, or 90 in.2 hen-1) and two group sizes (8 or 16 hens per cage). Data were collected under thermoneutral (24°C or 76°F) and heat-challenging conditions (32°C or 90°F and 35°C or 95°F). No notable differences in heat and moisture production were observed among the treatments under the experimental conditions. Room-level 24 h time-weighted mean sensible heat production, latent heat production or moisture production, and total heat production, respectively, were found to be 2.8 to 3.1 W kg-1, 3.5 to 3.7 W kg-1, and 6.4 to 6.6 W kg-1 at 24°C; 0.7 to 1.0 W kg-1, 4.9 to 5.2 W kg-1, and 5.6 to 6.1 W kg-1 at 32°C; and -1.0 to -0.4 W kg-1, 5.9 to 6.5 W kg-1, and 5.4 to 5.7 W kg-1 at 35°C. These results imply that for existing laying hen houses, reducing stocking density, and thus flock size, will reduce the heat and moisture generated within the houses. This may lead to difficulties in maintaining desired temperatures without compromising air quality during cold weather, but reducing stocking density may offer benefits for heat stress prevention and relief during hot weather.

Comments

This article is from Transactions of the ASABE 52, no. 6 (2006): 2027–2032.

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Open

Copyright Owner

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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