Abstract
This research had the objective of evaluating the influence of the natural ventilation on the surface temperature distribution of heated crates. The research used six crates from a farrowing room in a commercial swine production farm located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Three crates were heated using a heat mat while the other three had the environment heated by incandescent light bulbs (200W) fixed on the lateral wall. The surface temperature of the crate's floor (1.55x0.55m) was registered in 36 points, distributed in 18 quadrants (0.26x0.18m) using an infrared thermometer in three different conditions of the room's natural ventilation: opened, semi-opened, and closed lateral curtain. The isotherms and the temperature distribution of the floor heat were processed using the SURFER® (1995), and the statistical analysis was done using the MINITAB® (Statistical..., 2002). It was found that the room's natural ventilation had a significant influence on crate floor surface temperature distribution. The crate with a heat mat system provided higher temperatures and led to a more homogeneous surface temperature distribution.
Highlights
High piglet mortality is still a problem in the swine industry, and most of this mortality occurs within the first two days after farrowing (Andersen et al, 2005)
A common commercial heat mat used in Brazil measures 0.3m x 1.2m, depending on crate size, consuming around 60 to 125 W/h of energy, indicating a lower consumption than that of light bulbs (175 to 250 W/h)
This study was done in a farrowing room at a commercial swine farm, located in São Paulo State, Southern Brazil, in April 2008
Summary
High piglet mortality is still a problem in the swine industry, and most of this mortality occurs within the first two days after farrowing (Andersen et al, 2005). When the temperature drops below the piglets’ thermoneutral zone (34– 36°C), piglets try to increase their heat production by means of energetically demanding muscular shivering thermogenesis (Berthon et al, 1994), and they try to reduce their heat loss by social and individual thermoregulation (Vasdal et al, 2009). Because room temperature in the farrowing unit is normally kept within the sows’ thermal comfort zone, at around 20°C (Svendsen and Svendsen, 1997), it is necessary to provide external heat sources and some sort of insulating flooring in the creep area to avoid hypothermic piglets. Xin e Zhang (1999) compared the preference of piglets for light bulbs or heat mats in different environment conditions, concluding that they generally prefer heat mats
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
