Traditionally heifers have been kept in fully slatted floor pens in Scandinavia. However, current Animal Welfare Regulation requires that heifers should have access to a lying area with solid floor. In order to reduce space requirements, a combined lying/feeding stall was developed. These combined ...

A free stall should be the preferred place for a cow to rest, however, there exists several stall designs that are not optimal. The objective of present study was to investigate effects of stall dividers on lying time, lying position, stall cleanliness and to investigate the preferences of dairy...

In considering hen-housing systems, applicable heat and moisture production values are essential to producing properly designed and managed ventilation and supplemental heating systems. The aviary system is one housing type under consideration by egg producers. The aviary system has a much lower...

An Excel-based spreadsheet model was developed to delineate ventilation rate (VR), supplemental heat requirement (Hs), balance temperature (tbal, outdoor temperature below which Hs is required), energy consumption and cost for Hs in alternative (aviary and enriched colony) versus conventional cage...

Heat stress is one of the most detrimental environmental challenges affecting the biological process and the related production performance of farm animals, especially in poultry. Commercial laying hens have been bred (selected) for high egg production, resulting in increased sensitivity to heat ...

Wean-to-finish is a popular production facility in the United States and is increasing in Brazilian swine production. In wean-to-finish facilities, pigs are weaned directly into a finishing style building and remain there until slaughter. The study of sound levels is characterized by the...

Animal preference and motivation are tools to better assess how an animal perceives its surroundings, potentially contributing to improvements in animal welfare. Several preference and motivational assessment techniques rely on animal choices, and require a test apparatus with choices separated by...

External egg quality is an essential parameter of egg production as it relates directly to economic losses. This study evaluated the spatial variability of external egg quality in five naturally ventilated caged vertical aviaries. Differences caused by bird age and thermal and luminous variability...

The objective of this study was to investigate spraying different doses of water on the litter of two aviary housing system of laying hens, and determine the effects on emissions of fine dust, ammonia and odor. The study was performed in eight climate separated rooms of an experimental farm. Four...

This paper presents a study in which concentrations and size distributions of airborne particles were measured inside and outside typical animal houses for broilers, broiler breeder (both floor housing with litter); layers (floor housing system and aviary housing system); turkeys (floor housing...