Dust, ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions associated with three housing types for laying hens

Transcription

1 Philippe, F.X. 1, Larouche, J.P. 2, Palacios, J. 2, Pelletier, F. 2, Mahmoudi, Y. 2, 3, Godbout, S. 2, 3 1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; 2 Institute for Research and Development in Agroenvironment, Québec, Canada; 3 Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University Laval, Québec, Canada

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3 Material and methods Experimental design 12 pilot-scale chambers (1.2 m width, 2.4 m height, 2.4 m length) 3 treatments : Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV) 360 Lohmann LSL-Lite laying hens (30 birds per chambers) Commercial diet ad libitum (17.1% CP, 11.5 kj ME) 70 days of measurement from week 23 to 32 of hen s age

4 Material and methods Housing conditions Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV)

5 Material and methods Housing conditions Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV)

6 Material and methods Housing conditions Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV)

7 Material and methods - Measurements Ambient parameters (ventilation, T, RH) Production performance (body weights, feed/water intakes, laying rate) Manure characteristics (amount, composition) Gas concentration and emissions Total dust (sampling rate of 2 L/min, 1 filter/chamber.week) NH 3 (non-dispersive infrared analyser) CH 4 and CO 2 (gas chromatography)

8 Results and discussion Ambient conditions Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV) Temperature ( C) 19.8 a 19.7 a 20.3 b Relative humidity (%) 28.5 a 26.5 b 28.5 a Ventilation rate (m 3 h -1 hen -1 ) 4.14 a 3.95 b 4.29 c

9 Results and discussion Production performance Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV) Initial weight (kg) a a a Final weight (kg) a b b Weight gain (kg) a 78.7 b 64.6 b Laying rate (%) 96.3 a 96.6 a 77.2 b Egg weight (g) 59.6 a 59.3 a 58.6 b Feed intake (g day -1 ) a ab 117.8a b Feed conversion (kg feed dz -1 eggs) 1.61 a 1.60 a 2.12 b (kg feed kg -1 eggs) 2.26 a 2.24 a 3.03 b Water intake (ml day -1 ) a a a (L kg -1 feed) 1.65 a 1.65 a 1.79 b

10 Results and discussion Manure characteristics Battery cage (BC) Enriched cage (EC) Aviary (AV) Droppings Droppings Droppings Litter Amount (g hen -1 day -1 ) 70.8 ± ± ± ± 1.9 ph 6.27 ± ± ± ± 0.11 Dry matter (%) 50.5 ± ± ± ± 0.2 Organic matter (%) 36.5 ± ± ± ± 0.2 Nitrogen (g N kg -1 ) 29.5 ± ± ± ± 0.6 (mg N-NH 4+ kg -1 ) 3.25 ± ± ± ± 0.91 C/N ratio 12.3 ± ± ± ± 0.3 Ash (g kg -1 ) 140 ± ± ± ± 0.0 Phosphorus (g P kg -1 ) 8.0 ± ± ± ± 0.0 Potassium (g K kg -1 ) 11.5 ± ± ± ± 0.7 Calcium (g Ca kg -1 ) 31.9 ± ± ± ± 0.9

11 Results and discussion Total dust

12 Results and discussion Ammonia (NH 3 )

13 Results and discussion Methane (CH 4 )

14 Results and discussion Carbon dioxide (CO 2 )

15 Conclusion Laying performance : Gas releases : Cages systems : BC = EC Aviaries : Greenhouse gases (CH 4 and CO 2 ) with the 3 systems (BC-EC-AV) Aviaries : NH 3 and dust Impacts on environment and health of animals/workers EC = balance between performance, environment and welfare Needs for adaptation/development of new housing designs for aviaries Comprehensive assessment including welfare, environment and profitability

16 Acknowledgements

17 Thank you for your attention