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Measuring the weight of broilers is one of the most important yet labor-intensive metrics to monitor throughout a flock’s development. This study aimed to comparatively assess two broiler weighing systems in a commercial production system: an automatic weighing system using a suspended platform, and a manual weighing system. Six flocks, comprising 25,000 birds each, were monitored weekly, and the weight results obtained by manual and automatic methods were compared. Up to the third week of this study, the birds were restricted to the central region of the shed, where the broiler coop was located. From the fourth week onwards, the birds were distributed into four sectors within the shed, divided by fences. Differences in weight were found between the regions of the sheds for the automatic weighing, which demonstrates that the use of an automatic scale for each division is necessary. For the manual weighing, the differences were only found in the last week of rearing, suggesting that throughout the cycle, the weighings could be performed in a single quadrant, representing the shed. Regarding the weighing method, there were statistical differences between manual and automatic weighing. The average values for automatic weighing were 1% lower than the average values for manual weighing. However, from a commercial point of view, this small difference between the methods does not impact the poultry industry. The rational use of automatic scales is recommended to optimize the monitoring of broiler chicken performance, reduce excessive handling and, consequently, minimize animal stress, promoting greater well-being.

Poultry transport represents a significant animal welfare challenge, particularly when birds are exposed to heat stress during travel, a condition that can compromise physiological stability, performance, and survival. Despite the relevance of this issue, research on engineering improvements to poultry transport crates remains limited. In this study, four virtual models of poultry transport crates were evaluated to assess their potential to improve the thermal comfort internal airflow conditions. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted under three transport speeds, complemented by wind tunnel experiments using reduced-scale prototypes fabricated by additive manufacturing. The results demonstrated that the alternative crate 3 (AC3) model presented exhibited superior internal average airflow velocities (IAFV) across all speeds, including a 32.85% increase compared to the conventional crate at 60 km/h. Wind tunnel testing confirmed significant differences among crate designs. AC3 showed lower air temperature than AC1 and reduced relative humidity compared to CC and AC2. Thermal comfort indices supported these findings, with AC3 presenting the lowest THI and enthalpy, indicating a less stressful microclimate. In terms of airflow, AC2 and AC3 achieved higher IAFV (19.27 ± 8.49 m/s and 19.30 ± 4.80 m/s) than CC and AC1. AC3 also had the lowest dynamic pressure, suggesting reduced airflow resistance and more efficient aerodynamics. Therefore, improved crate geometry and increased ventilation surface can enhance airflow distribution, potentially reduce heat accumulation and improve animal welfare. However, further studies involving live birds, realistic stocking densities, and full-scale trailer simulations are required to validate these benefits under commercial transport conditions.

Effective planning animal transport is essential to safeguard animal welfare and reduce production losses. Environmental conditions, specifically extreme temperatures in combination with ranges of relative humidity are highlighted as one of the main risk factors for production losses during transport (e.g., fatalities). The majority of research evaluating both welfare and production impacts of pig transport have been primarily undertaken in Europe and North America, which cover a relatively limited range of distinct climates (e.g., temperate, sub-arctic, etc.). As a result, research on pig transport in semi-arid conditions is lacking. In this study, we evaluated the effects of both distance (short, 30 km; and long, 170 km) and transport daily periods (morning, (05:00-11:00); afternoon (12:00-17:00); and night, (23:00-04:00)) on the preslaughter losses and heat stress of pigs in commercial transport in a semiarid region. Across 19 journeys of standard slaughter-weight pig loads (124.0 ± 2.8 kg), 684 focal animals (36 per journey) were evaluated. For each journey, the load’s thermal profile (THIadj and enthalpy) and physiological responses of individual pigs were recorded. On arrival at designated slaughterhouses, the percentage pig of non-ambulatory non-injured (NANI), non-ambulatory injured (NAI), death on arrival (DOA), and total losses were recorded. Short journeys in the afternoon were shown to be more detrimental to the thermal comfort of pigs, with higher rectal temperatures recorded. The highest percentage of total losses and DOA occurred in afternoon journeys, irrespective of distance, followed by the morning, with the lowest losses observed in pigs transported at night. Additionally, total losses and DOA were further exacerbated by journey distance, with higher rates observed in short journeys. Higher percentage averages of NANI and NAI were observed in shorter journeys, but daily periods effects were only observed for NANI. These results further demonstrate the welfare and production loss risks associated with journey distance and time of day (representing varying environmental conditions) during road transport of pigs, whilst providing novel data in semiarid conditions. Careful and effective planning for pig transportation is essential to minimize heat stress and production losses. Consideration of the thermal environment on the day of travel, as well as providing flexibility to adjust travel times (e.g., early morning or evening), should help to mitigate risks of heat stress and production losses during pig transport.

This study investigated the perceptions of animal welfare and the consumption of alternative protein sources among future professionals in agronomy, food science, and veterinary medicine. A sample of 769 participants from three faculties [ESALQ (“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture), FZEA (School of Animal Science and Food Engineering), and FMVZ (School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science)] of the University of São Paulo was used. These faculties have different teaching focuses: agronomy, food and animal production, and veterinary, respectively. A relationship between the perception of animal welfare and alternative sources of protein based on the participants’ educational background was verified, specifically: (i) participants from the FZEA (food science) and FMVZ (veterinary) units would be interested in consuming farmed meat and expressed interest in trying it; (ii) students from the ESALQ (agronomy) have a low level of knowledge about animal welfare and are not very interested in knowing how animals are reared, and few participants attribute the presence of the health inspection seal as influencing their purchasing intention; (iii) participants, regardless of their academic background, did not express an intention to reduce their red meat consumption; (iv) the ESALQ was the campus which showed the most skepticism about animal sentience; (v) most participants from the FMVZ and FZEA reported being willing to pay 4–5% more for products that guarantee animal welfare. The findings suggest that the academic context influences individuals’ perceptions and food choices, highlighting the need for educational strategies that foster a greater awareness of animal welfare, encourage the adoption of more sustainable practices, and promote the acceptance of alternative protein sources within the agri-food sector.

Currently available conventional breeding methods for broilers often result in impaired biomechanics and skeletal growth for the animals. The addition of environmental enrichment is an alternative which can help alleviate these effects. This study examines the effects of environmental enrichment on biomechanics, morphometry, and bone mass of broilers across various age groups. In total, 112 Cobb 500 chicks (50% male and 50% female) were used in a completely randomized design experiment, with 56 broilers per treatment (T1 and T2), carried out in subdivided plots. Each plot was subjected to a different treatment, as follows: all plots were subjected to the treatments (T1 = environmental enrichment and T2 = no environment enrichment) and the sub-plots held the broilers’ age groups (1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days old). Eight broilers were euthanized on a weekly basis for two production cycles in order to perform morphometric (diameter and length) and biomechanical analysis of the response variables. These measurements were performed on the femur and tibia. Birds were subjected to classical linear fixed effects model and compared through Tukey’s mean test. Significant interactions between environmental enrichment and broiler age were noticed, particularly at 42 days, which displayed bone development for all variables under study. Except for the length of the femur of broiler chickens (p = 0.4638). Therefore, simple effects will not be evaluated. Environmental enrichment had a notable impact on tibia length (p = 0.0035), femur weight (p = 0.0014), and tibia weight (p<0.0001) at 42 days, indicating a favorable effect on skeletal growth in broilers. Enrichment resulted in a 1% increase in femur inertia, a 2% rise in tibia inertia, and a 1% enhancement in ultimate bending stress for both bones, displaying improved structural integrity and durability. Beneficial changes in bone morphology and biomechanics were observed at 42 days after enrichment.

Researchers working with thermal comfort have been using enthalpy to measure thermal energy inside rural facilities, establishing indicator values for many situations of thermal comfort and heat stress. This variable turned out to be helpful in analyzing thermal exchange in livestock systems. The animals are exposed to an environment which is decisive for the thermoregulatory process, and, consequently, the reactions reflect states of thermal comfort or heat stress, the last being responsable for problems of sanity, behavior and productivity. There are researchers using enthalpy as a qualitative indicator of thermal environment of livestock such as poultry, cattle and hogs in tropical regions. This preliminary work intends to check different enthalpy equations using information from classical thermodynamics, and proposes a direct equation as thermal comfort index for livestock systems.

In poultry farming, robots are considered by birds as intruder elements to their environment, because animals escape due to their movement. Their escape is measured using the escape distance (ED) technique. This study analyzes the behavior of animals in relation to their ED through the use of a robot with two speeds: 12 rpm and 26 rpm. The objective is to understand whether the speeds cause variations in ED and their implications for animal stress. A broiler breeding cycle was analyzed (six weeks) through the introduction of the robot weekly. ED analyses were carried out on static images generated from footage of the robot running. The results indicate higher escape distance rates (p < 0.05) peaking midway through the production cycle, notably in the third week. Conversely, the final weeks saw the lowest ED, with the most significant reduction occurring in the last week. This pattern indicates a gradual escalation of ED up to the fourth week, followed by a subsequent decline. Despite RPM12 having shown low ED results, it did not show enough ED to move the animals away from their path of travel, causing bumps and collisions. RPM26 showed higher ED in all breeding phases, but showed ED with no bumps and collisions.

The identification and prediction of losses, along with environmental and behavioral analyses and animal welfare monitoring, are key drivers for the use of technologies in poultry farming which help characterize the productive environment. Among these technologies, robotics emerges as a facilitator as it provides space for the use of several computing tools for capture, analysis and prediction. This study presents the full methodology for building a robot (so called RobôFrango) to its application in poultry farming. The construction method was based on evolutionary prototyping that allowed knowing and testing each physical component (electronic and mechanical) for assembling the robotic structure. This approach made it possible to identify the most suitable components for the broiler production system. The results presented motors, wheels, chassis, batteries and sensors that proved to be the most adaptable to the adversities existing in poultry farms. Validation of the final constructed structure was carried out through practical execution of the robot, seeking to understand how each component behaved in a commercial broiler aviary. It was concluded that it was possible to identify the best electronic and physical equipment for building a robotic prototype to work in poultry farms, and that a final product was generated.

Body surface temperature can be used to evaluate thermal equilibrium in animals. The bodies of broiler chickens, like those of all birds, are partially covered by feathers. Thus, the heat flow at the boundary layer between broilers’ bodies and the environment differs between feathered and featherless areas. The aim of this investigation was to use linear regression models incorporating environmental parameters and age to predict the surface temperatures of the feathered and featherless areas of broiler chickens. The trial was conducted in a climate chamber, and 576 broilers were distributed in two groups. In the first trial, 288 broilers were monitored after exposure to comfortable or stressful conditions during a 6-week rearing period. Another 288 broilers were measured under the same conditions to test the predictive power of the models. Sensible heat flow was calculated, and for the regions covered by feathers, sensible heat flow was predicted based on the estimated surface temperatures. The surface temperatures of the feathered and featherless areas can be predicted based on air, black globe or operative temperatures. According to the sensible heat flow model, the broilers’ ability to maintain thermal equilibrium by convection and radiation decreased during the rearing period. Sensible heat flow estimated based on estimated surface temperatures can be used to predict animal responses to comfortable and stressful conditions.

The compost barn is presented as a system which is capable of providing a suitable environment for dairy cows, but this must be assessed for different climatic regions. Few studies have been carried out evaluating the physics of the thermal environment of this system under tropical conditions. In this study, we evaluated thermoregulatory, behavioral, and productive responses and physical integrity in primiparous and multiparous cows housed in a compost barn system under tropical conditions. From a total of 121 clinically healthy dairy cows aged 3 to 6 years, 30 Girolando cows (7/8) were randomly selected, divided into two groups, according to calving order (primiparous and multiparous), body weight, lactation curve and milk production for the evaluations. Thus, group 1 (primiparous) with an average weight of 524 kg and production of 30 kg was characterized, and group 2 (multiparous) with an average weight and production of 635 kg and 36 kg, respectively. The enthalpy was higher (P < 0.05) in the internal environment of the shed at the three evaluated times (3:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 6:30 p.m.), but the humidity did not vary (P > 0.05) between the internal and external environments at the evaluated times. Respiratory rate was higher (P < 0.0001) in multiparous cows at 11:30 a.m., but was similar at 3:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. when compared with primiparous cows. The coat surface temperature was higher (P < 0.001) at 3:30 a.m., but similar at the other two times. For the variables lameness and dirtiness, the vast majority of animals presented scores considered adequate (1 and 2), indicating that it was able to provide an ideal physical environment. Regarding animal behavior, panting (O) and lying idle (OD) were higher (P < 0.05) in multiparous cows. Multiparous cows have higher (P < 0.0001) milk production. Milk production has a negative correlation with enthalpy. The CB system was not able to provide a suitable thermal environment for the animals. Multiparous cows present higher heat stress with change in behavioral responses, especially at midday, but with higher milk production when compared to primiparous cows in compost barn under tropical conditions.