Environmental requirements for livestock housing

1
Safiullah Jauhar. M.Sc., Afghanistan National Agriculture Sciences & Technology University (ANASTU)
By: Safiullah Jauhar
Year: 2021
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Ministry of Higher Education
Afghanistan National Agriculture Sciences and
Technology University (ANASTU)
Environmental Requirements for
Livestock Housing

2
Animal Environmental Requirements
• A complex set of interrelated animal husbandry factors will influence the
animal’s ability to utilize that capacity for growth, development and
production.
• Animal housing design is mainly concerned with:
• The physical environment,
• In particular climatic and mechanical factors.
• All other factors should also be considered in order to create a good
layout .

3

4

5

6

7
• Heat Regulation:
• All domestic livestock are homeotherms,
• They maintain a relatively constant internal body temperature, usually
within a 1–2 °C range.

8
• The body temperature of most domestic animals is considerably higher
than the environmental temperature to which they are exposed.
• hypothalamus gland: acts as a body thermostat by stimulating
mechanisms to counteract either high or low ambient temperatures.
• Varying the temperature also results in changed behavior.
• Most animals reduce their level of activity in a hot environment.
• The body can tolerate short periods of heat stress if the temperature
exceeds the body temperature for an extended period, it may prove
fatal.

9
• When feed is converted by the animal’s metabolism for the production
of milk, eggs, meat, offspring, etc., heat is produced as a by-product.
• High-yielding animals are consequently more likely to suffer from
heat stress.
• Feeding fiber-rich, low-digestible feedstuffs, such as hay, will result in
high heat-production because of increased muscular activity in the
alimentary tract.
• An increased share of concentrates in the feed may therefore reduce
heat stress in an animal under hot climatic conditions.

10
• Animal moisture and heat production:
• Heat is produced centrally in the deep body.
• The surplus is conducted to the skin surface where it is transferred to the
atmosphere
• As sensible heat by means of convection, conduction and radiation, and
as latent heat through the evaporation of moisture from the lungs and
skin.
• The heat and moisture produced by the animals kept in a structure must
be removed by ventilation.
• In the tropics, sufficient air flow is usually provided by the use of open-
sided structures.
• If an enclosed building is used, a range of ventilation flow rates must be
provided for in the building design.

11
• Climatic Factors:
• Temperature
• The dominant environmental factor affecting the physiological
functions of domestic animals is temperature.
• For most farm animals, a mean daily temperature in the range 10–20
°C is referred to as the ‘comfort zone’.
• At the upper and lower critical temperatures, physical regulation will not
be sufficient to maintain a constant body temperature.
• A very young animal, lacking fully developed temperature-regulating
mechanisms, is much more sensitive to its thermal environment and
requires higher temperatures.

12
• Humidity
• Poultry do not have sweat glands, so all evaporative heat loss must
originate from the respiratory tract.
• In a hot, dry climate evaporation is rapid but.
• In a hot humid climate, the ability of the air to absorb additional
moisture is limited and inadequate cooling may result in heat stress.
• Low humidity in the air will cause irritation of the mucous
membranes, while excessively high humidity may promote the growth
of fungus infections.
• Keep the relative humidity in the range of 40 percent to 80 percent.

13
• Radiation
• Heat load on a grazing animal can be increased by direct solar radiation
and radiation reflected from clouds or the ground.
• Heat gain by radiation can be effectively reduced by the provision of a
shaded area.
• Air movements
• Air movements assist heat loss by evaporation, as long as the air
temperature is lower than the skin temperature.
• Air movements are required to remove harmful gases and to supply the
animal with fresh air for breathing.
• A wind velocity of 0.2 m/s is generally regarded as a minimum
requirement, it can be increased to 1.0 m/s when the temperature is
nearing the upper critical level.

14
• Precipitation
• Heavy rain may penetrate the fur of an animal and decrease its
insulation value.
• In such circumstances, a strong wind can lead to excessive cooling.
• However, a naturally greasy hair coat resist water penetration and with
the shelter for the animals the problem may be avoided altogether.

15
• By critical level temperature (18 °C to 24 °C, depending on the species)
there is usually a drop in production or a reduced rate of gain.
• When the temperature falls outside the comfort zone, other climatic
factors assume greater significance.
• Humidity becomes increasingly important, as do solar radiation and
wind velocity.
Climatic Factors and Livestock Performance

16
• Dairy cattle show a reduced feed intake under heat stress, resulting in
lower milk production and reduced growth.
• Reproduction is also adversely affected.
• There are, important differences between breeds.
• European cattle (Bos taurus) produce well at temperatures ranging from 4
°C to 24 °C, even at high humidity.
• Much lower temperatures (-10 °C) have little effect.

17
• A drop in milk production results when temperatures exceed 25 °C.
• The drop may be as much as 50 percent at temperatures of 32 °C or higher
• .
• In contrast, zebu cattle (Bos indicus), which are native to warm
climates, have a comfort zone of 15–27 °C.
• Milk production begins to drop only when temperatures rise above 35 °C.

18
• Sheep can tolerate a wide range of temperatures but should be
protected from wind and rain.
• A long period of high ambient temperatures inhibits reproduction.
• Heat stress also reduces the lambing percentage, decreases the
incidence of twinning, and decreases the birth weight of lambs.
• When temperatures are below 7°C at breeding time, ewes show
improved reproductive efficiency.

19
• Goats are affected by temperature, humidity and rain.
• In hot, goats need shelter from intense heat during the day.
• In humid areas, they need protection from prolonged heavy rain.
• Excessive wetting from rain can cause pneumonia and an increase in
parasitic infestation.

20
• Poultry environmental requirements vary with age.
• Chicks should be started at 35 ºC. As from one week, the temperature
is reduced gradually to 24 °C by the fifth week.
• Broilers and young turkeys reared at ambient temperatures below 18 °C
are heavier than similar stock reared within the 18–35 °C range.
• Laying birds produce the greatest number of eggs and the largest-
sized eggs at 13–24 °C.
• The best feed conversion efficiency is achieved between 21 °C and 24
°C.

21
• Microbiological Environment
• Disease remains a major profit-limiting factor in animal production in
many tropical countries.
• Sanitary control measures should be incorporated into any building
design, so that a good hygienic standard can be easily maintained.
• An animal that is well fed and watered, as well as being in good
condition, will have high resistance to disease.

22
• Good management can do much to remove or reduce the effects of
adverse environmental factors, such as climatic stress, which would
otherwise weaken the body’s natural defenses.
• Newborn stock should always receive colostrum (first milk), which
contains antibodies.
• Pens, in particular those for calving, should be constructed of easily
cleaned and disinfected materials and be free from corners and
recesses where manure and dirt can accumulate.

23
• The whole building should be cleaned and disinfected periodically.
• The emptied pen should be thoroughly cleaned before other animals
are transferred to it.
• This ‘all-in, all-out’ policy is particularly beneficial for disease control,
where the animals are bought from outside the farm.
• Diseases are transmitted in many ways,
• Including direct contact between animals,
• Airborne micro-organisms,
• Biting insects and ticks,
• Manure, soil,
• Contaminated feed and water,
• Birds and rodents, and stockperson’s boots.

24
• Other Environmental Factors
• acoustic factors have only a marginal effect on the animal’s
development and production.
• varies with latitude and season and has a direct influence on anim Day
length or photoperiod al performance, especially on the breeding
season for sheep and poultry egg production.
• Dust can carry micro-organisms, which may cause an outbreak of
disease.
• Toxic and noxious gases are produced by manure that accumulates in
buildings or storage facilities, especially

25
References
• Bai, Z., Li, X., Lu, J., Wang, X., Velthof, G. L., Chadwick, D., ... & Hu, C. (2017). Livestock housing and
manure storage need to be improved in China.
• Galama, P. J., Ouweltjes, W., Endres, M. I., Sprecher, J. R., Leso, L., Kuipers, A., & Klopčič, M. (2020).
Symposium review: Future of housing for dairy cattle. Journal of dairy science, 103(6), 5759-5772.
• Aland, A., & Banhazi, T. (Eds.). (2013). Livestock housing: modern management to ensure optimal health and
welfare of farm animals. Wageningen Academic Publishers.
• Bai, Z., Li, X., Lu, J., Wang, X., Velthof, G. L., Chadwick, D., ... & Hu, C. (2017). Livestock housing and
manure storage need to be improved in China.
• FAO. 2011. Rural structures in the tropics. Design and development. Rome.
• Mosquera, J., Ploegaert, J. P. M., & Kupers, G. C. C. (2020). Determination of carbon dioxide concentrations in
air from livestock housing systems: reference method using the lung method as applied by Wageningen
Livestock Research.
• Tarazona, A. M., Ceballos, M. C., & Broom, D. M. (2020). Human relationships with domestic and other
animals: One health, one welfare, one biology. Animals, 10(1), 43.
• Leso, L., Morshed, W., Conti, L., & Barbari, M. (2017). Evaluating thermal performance of experimental
building solutions designed for livestock housing: The effect of greenery systems. Agronomy Research, 15(1),
239.

26
Thank You

Environmental requirements for livestock housing

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Environmental requirements for livestock housing

Similar to Environmental requirements for livestock housing (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Environmental requirements for livestock housing

Editor's Notes