Effects of two different rearing systems (organic and barn) on production performance, animal welfare traits and egg quality characteristics in laying hens

Alternative housing systems for hen eggs production represents clear evidence of the trend in animal housing and husbandry towards extensive rearing methods. Consumer demand is oriented towards healthy foods controlled not only under a safety point of view, but also under a welfare assessment of the animals' living conditions. Among the different alternative systems deep litter and organic production in recent years have been improved in Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether different housing systems (barn B and organic O) for laying hens may influence productive performance, fear responses and egg quality characteristics. A total of 4,745 birds were housed in the B system and 2,016 in the O system, both of which were commercial facilities. In each system the same strain (Hy-Line Brown) was housed and layer performance, external and internal egg characteristics, mortality and feed consumption were recorded weekly. Animal reactivity was recorded monthly with the approaching test. Moreover, the Tonic Immobility test was conducted at 70 weeks of age; feather and foot pad conditions were also investigated at the same time. The peak of laying was reached in both housing systems at 25 weeks of age and was higher in organic hens (94.5%) than in barn hens (93.0%). Feed conversion rate during the overall laying period was 2.36 vs 2.20, respectively, in O and B housing systems. There was a significant difference concerning the eggs classified as very dirty, dirty and cracked between the two systems. The dirty eggs were higher in O system probably due to laying eggs in a free range area, while the higher number of cracked eggs in B system may be due to a significantly less shell thickness in this system. Egg weight increased with layer age in both housing systems. Animals reared in O system showed less fearfulness than in B emphasised by the approaching and Tonic Immobility test results. Feather scoring did not evidence any severe plumage damage; statistical analysis showed some significant differences in comb and back areas between O and B systems. The hens reared on litter showed more aggressive pecking than the organic hens probably due to difference both in light intensity and in density

Livestock system as a mitigation measure of a wind farm in a mountain area

The study concerns a mountain territory, bordering Liguria, Piemonte, Lombardia and Emilia, where a high power 151 MW wind farm, with 42 tower of 3.6 MW power, has been proposed. As a measure of environmental mitigation, the realization of a livestock system of a herd of sucker cows pasturing in the wind farm areas is proposed. This has implications for environmental maintenance, employment in a territory gradually losing its population, and for tourism. The study, having focused on those aspects that reduce landscape impact and carrying out an analysis of the individual areas to evaluate forage resources and the different pastoral indexes, identifies the maximum sustainable load of animals (335 UBA/ha) in the current conditions of neglect. So, some measures to improve and increase sustainable herds have been proposed and examined. The operations include: stone removal; light harrowing; overseeding; creation of fodder reserves for periods of shortage; and grazing will be managed by taking turns. Based on the results of two other studies, both previous tests carried out on site, encourage us to think that we will be able to increase the maximum sustainable seasonal load for the current situation by more than 50%. This means a herd of 500 UBA equal to a gross PLV, for the grazing period of 180 days, of €400,000 and so guarantee an adequate income to 3-4 UL (labor unit), and of €650,000/year in case the chain is completed during the winter months in structures located in the valley. In this case, the PLV obtained could assure income to 6-7 employees, which would be extremely important for the socio-economic conditions of the valley; in consideration of the induced activities- meat processing, marketing and tourism facilities- which could be made available. Experimental tests of the technical improvements described will be carried out in the next season

Effect of pheasant breeders management on eggs' fertility

The pheasant is the most common game bird in Italian countryside. The Italian pheasants' population can be considered as the result of different sub-species hybridisation (Cocchi et al., 2000). The evolution of pheasant farming methods has led to house breeding colonies in single family (1 male with 5-7 females) battery cages (Meriggi, 1992). The traditional housing facilities for breeding colonies were outdoor pens with a covered area, in the same pen different families were housed (Manetti, 1987)

Effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL on laying hen performance

In order to evaluate the effects of dietary addition of probiotic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL on hen performance and egg quality, 160 commercial Hy-Line Brown pullets, 17 weeks old, were divided in control group (C) (N=80) and treated group (T) (N=80), with 4 alternate replicates of 20 animals each per group. C was fed with a "standard diet", whereas the T group received the same diet with an inclusion of 1x109 CFU kg-1 of Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (freeze dried cells). The experimental trial lasted 39 weeks after one week of acclimatization. Hen performance and egg quality (egg production, FCR, egg specific gravity, shell thickness, Haugh Units) were recorded. The results show a higher overall egg production (P<0.01) and better FCR (Kg feed intake/Kg saleable eggs) (P<0.05) in the T birds, but no statistically significant differences were observed in egg weight. The eggs from the T birds were characterized by a higher specific gravity (ESG) (P<0.01) and albumen viscosity (Haugh Units) (P<0.05). No significant differences in egg shell thickness were recorded. In conclusion, Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL improved some important parameters in laying hen performance and egg quality

Aplicación de la energía solar térmica para la reducción del consumo eléctrico en un sistema de calentamiento de agua sanitaria industrial

El creciente aumento de los costos de la energía por medio de combustibles fósiles, el impulso en el país de la Energías Renovables y la Generación Distribuida hacen considerar a las empresas la sustitución de las primeras por las alternativas tecnológicas disponibles de energías renovables. El objetivo de este trabajo fue reducir los costos y el impacto ambiental en el calentamiento del agua sanitaria del edificio administrativo, vestuarios y comedor de BAYER ZARATE, realizado con energía eléctrica, por medio de colectores solares térmicos de tecnología de tubo de vacío. Este proyecto se enmarcó en una Práctica Profesional Supervisada - UTN en industria, obligatoria en el último año de la carrera. La tutoría fue realizada por el Centro CEA y el Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, resulta de sumo interés este formato ya que hace interactuar la investigación y docencia con la industria en forma directa. Para la primera etapa del proyecto se realizó el diseño de forma convencional y una comparativa utilizando TRNSYS18; concluyendo, se instalaron seis unidades de 30 tubos cada una, superficie de apertura de 17m2. Resultando un ahorro anual en energía eléctrica de 16374kWh, que corresponde al 30% del total, amortización 10 años y dejar de emitir un total de 8,762tn/C02 por año.

Non di solo arte. Viaggio in Italia tra voci e numeri della giovane arte contemporanea

I giovani artisti in Italia: chi sono, che cosa fanno, quanto guadagnano. Le ambizioni, i percorsi di formazione, i rapporti con il mercato.- Indice #7- Prefazione, Maria Sole Agnelli Teodorani Fabbri e Luigi Guidobono Cavalchini Garofoli #11- L’idea e gli obiettivi del progetto #17- La forcina piegata: un’introduzione alla ricerca #21- Cap.I I risultati in sintesi #25- Cap.II Il sistema dell’arte contemporanea in Italia #29- Cap.III Identikit degli artisti #33- Cap.IV Lavoro artistico e reddito #51- Cap.V I percorsi di formazione #65- Cap.VI L’arte e il suo mercato #77- Cap.VII Le politiche pubbliche #91- Cap.VIII Gli spazi indipendenti #103- Cap.IX Generazioni e opportunità a confronto #111- Cap.X #159- Cap.XI Pensieri sull’arte #181- Cap.XII Alcuni percorsi possibili per l’arte contemporanea in Italia #199- Metodologia della ricerca #203- Rassegna bibliografica ragionata #217- Riferimenti bibliografici #225- Siti web #232- Allegati #23

Evaluating an e-nose ability to detect biogas plant efficiency: a case study

The demand for online monitoring and control of biogas process is increasing, since better monitoring and control system can improve process plants stability and economy. A number of parameters in both the liquid and the gas phase have been suggested as process indicators (pH, alkalinity, VFA and H-2, redox potential, biogas production rate, biogas composition, FOS/TAC ratio, COD and/or VS reduction). The present study proposes the use of complex sensors as a possible solution to engineer a consistent control system. Tests were performed to analyze the biogas coming from a biogas plant in which conditions of pre-overloading and overloading were artificially inducted. The different inducted functioning conditions were recognised using a FOS/TAC tester, or the ratio volatile organic acids/alkaline buffer capacity. The FOS/TAC ratio has long been recognized extending as far as the imminent inversion of the digester biology to be detected at an early stage. Data coming from the e-nose were sorted and classified according to FOS/TAC ratio as a reference method. Not all the sensors of the e-nose were reactive to manure digestates, but four of them, sensitive to aromatic compounds, ammonia alkanes and methane, resulted crucial in the samples identification. Results confirmed that the e-nose can discriminate different digestion conditions, demonstrating the possibility to reduce the number of sensors in this innovative tool for biogas control systems. However, this instrument cannot be considered a complete alternative to traditional analysis systems, as, for example, the FOS/TAC titration, but a supporting tool for a quick analysis of the system