engleski

Microclimatic values in well-equipped, modern farrowing pen during the autumn-winter period

The investigation was performed in the well-equipped, modern farrowing pen of 475.2 m2 with automatic regulation of primary microclimatic conditions by Big Deutchman Technology. The farrowing pen was divided into four sections by partition wall and sliding door. Three sections were 112.5 m2 large, and the fourth section was 135 m2 large. At the lateral sides of each section of facility, two windows (1.2 x 1.0 m) were installed at 1.1 m from the floor level. Fans were installed in the middle of the ceiling of each section. There were two corridors 1.40 m wide and 4 rows of boxes measuring 2.40 x 1.80 m in the each section of the facility. In each row there were 5 boxes, totalling 20 boxes per section (80 boxes in the facility). The boxes were equipped with sow wedging and half-latticed flooring made of hard plastic beneath which, a canal for manure collection, was located. Automatic feeding system prevented the dust formation in the air. Air sampling for establishing the total count of mesophil bacterial cells, was performed by SAS 100TM equipment (PBI International, Italy). The investigation was carried out during the autumn-winter period, with maximal number of 20 sows per unit of space. During each season, the air sampling was performed during both production cycles of 24-25 days. During the production cycles, the air samples were taken four times at six-days intervals, from the three different spots (front, middle and back) in each section of the facility, about 50 cm from the floor level, at the animal biozone level. After air sampling, the samples were put on the Petri dishes with nutrient agar and incubated at 37 º ; C during 24 hours. Obtained values were expressed as the number of bacterial colonies per m3 of air (CFU/m3). After each air sampling, at the same spot of facility, the measuring of primary microclimatic parameters (temperature, relative humidity, force of airstream, ammonium) by means of automatic equipment with the belonging probes (Testo and Dräger, Germany) were performed. The collected data were statistically analyzed by Statistica 7.1 (StatSoft Inc., 2005) program. Study results show that for the autumn period in both production cycles, the total count of mesophil bacterial cells was 3.8-4.1 x 104 CFU/m3 with average of 3.9 x 104 CFU/m3, and for the winter period 4.0-4.2 x 104 CFU/m3 with average of 4.1 x 104 CFU/m3. The average values of air temperature during autumn period in both production cycles were 22.57-23.0 º ; C with average of 22.7 º ; C, and for the winter period 21.4-21.6 º ; C with average of 21.4 º ; C. The concentration of relative humidity for the autumn period was 68.64-69.72 % with average of 69.20 %, and for the winter period 70.2-70.7 % with average of 70.4 %. The force of airstream for the autumn period was 0.13-0.20 m/h with average of 0.18 m/h, and for the winter period 0.18-0.20 m/h with average of 0.20 m/h. Ammonium concentration for the autumn period was 4.71 - 4.92 ppm with average of 4.80 ppm, and for the winter period 4.90-5.6 ppm with average of 5.1 ppm. Basic statistical analysis shows no significant difference for measured values of microclimatic parameters, neither by comparison of results between production cycles, nor between seasons. The measured values of the average count of mesophil bacterial cells, in these investigations, represent optimal values in swine production. The average values of temperature, relative humidity and force of airstream, in this and previous investigations, were optimal for this phase of swine production. On the basis of all the obtained results, it can be concluded that provided that all the necessary housing conditions in a farrowing pen are fullfilled and the standards of population density per unit of space are respected, optimal values of temperature, relative humidity, force of airstream and ammonium concentration along with the number of bacterias up to 104 CFU/m3 are expected. Since microclimatic factors generally affect animal comfort, it can be concluded that such a surrounding has a beneficial effect on animal welfare.

swine production; microclima; farrowing pen; autumn-winter period

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