RESUMO
The objective of this research was to evaluate the thermal exchanges, physiological responses, productive performance and carcass yield of Guinea Fowl confined under thermoneutral conditions and under thermal stress. For the experiment, 96 animals were confined in 8 experimental boxes of 1 m2 of area, each, divided in equal numbers and placed inside two distinct climatic chambers, where the birds were distributed in a completely randomized design, with two treatments (air temperatures of 26 and 32 °C, respectively). For the collection of physiological responses and carcass yield 16 birds were evaluated and for the collection of data on feed and water consumption and productive responses, 48 birds per treatment were evaluated. The environmental variables (air temperature (AT), air relative humidity and wind speed), temperature and humidity index (THI), heat exchanges, physiological responses (respiratory rate, surface temperature, cloacal temperature and eyeball temperature), feed (FC) and water (WC) consumption and production responses (weight gain, feed conversion index and carcass yield) of the birds were evaluated. With the elevation of the AT, it could be noticed that the THI went from a thermal comfort condition to an emergency condition, where the birds lost part of their feathers, increased all physiological responses evaluated, and consequently, reduced by 53.5% the amount of heat dissipated in the sensible form and increased by 82.7% the heat losses in the latent form, increasing also the WC. ATs of up to 32 °C did not significantly affect the productive performance and carcass yield of the guinea fowl.
Assuntos
Regulação da Temperatura Corporal , Temperatura Alta , Animais , Temperatura , Perus , Galinhas/fisiologiaRESUMO
The aim of this research was to evaluate the production and hematologic responses of confined Rhode Island Red chickens consuming water with 3 different levels of salinity and housed at different densities. Seven hundred and twenty birds were distributed in 36 experimental boxes built inside a poultry house according to a completely randomized design with a 3 × 3 factorial scheme with 3 salinity levels (SL) of water (1, 4, and 8 dS/m) and 3 housing densities (8, 10, and 12 birds/m2). Four birds were evaluated from each experimental box, thus totaling 16 repetitions (birds) per treatment. The productive performance, carcass yield, and hematologic traits of the birds in different experimental conditions were evaluated. Increasing water SL resulted in a significant increase (P < 0.05) in water and feed consumption beginning in the sixth week of life, causing an increase in the percentage of carcass and heart weight, with no changes in serum responses. Increasing housing density led to a reduction in water and feed consumption, weight gain, and feed conversion, thus reducing the chickens' blood magnesium levels.