Title:	Effect of transportation distances, seasons and crate microclimate on broiler chicken production losses
Authors:	Santos, Vinícius Machado dos Dallago, Bruno Stéfano Lima Racanicci, Aline Mondini Calil Santana, Ângela Patrícia Cue, Roger I. Bernal, Francisco Ernesto Moreno
metadata.dc.identifier.orcid:	http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1249-0230
Assunto::	Microclimas Transporte de mercadorias Frango de corte Umidade
Issue Date:	22-Apr-2020
Publisher:	PLoS ONE
Citation:	SANTOS, Vinícius M. dos et al. Effect of transportation distances, seasons and crate microclimate on broiler chicken production losses. PLoS ONE, v. 15, n. 4, e0232004, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232004. Disponível em: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0232004. Acesso em: 15 jun. 2021.
Abstract:	The goal of this research was to evaluate the microclimate (temperature, relative humidity and ECI–enthalpy comfort index) of commercial loads of broiler chickens at different transport distances: Dist15 (15 km on average) and Dist90 (90 km on average) in the summer and winter seasons and their effects on the production parameters body weight difference (BWD), mortality (%) and bruising prevalence (%). Twelve broiler loads were monitored using dataloggers to record temperature and humidity, with a total of 24 target crates per load. The experiment followed a factorial design [2 seasons (rainy and dry) × 2 distances (Dist15 and Dist90)] with a randomized complete block arrangement, 3 sexes (all males, all females, or mixed shipments) and one shipment per combination. BWD had a heterogeneous distribution throughout the load, and this distribution was not significantly correlated with the mean ECI measured during transport at 12 positions along the load. In terms of comfort, summer is the most critical period for broiler transport. In the interaction between rainy season and Dist90, the highest ECI was scored in the lethal zone (where physiological mechanisms are not enough to control body temperature). Mortality during the rainy season was not significantly different between distances. However, during the dry season, mortality was twice as high as broilers that travelled for 15 km. The prevalence of bruising on carcasses was not affected by the interaction between season and distance. As we know, broiler chicken performance, during transport, can be also related to road conditions, being hard to evaluate the real impact of seasons and distances on animal welfare. Load microclimate can compromise broiler chicken welfare during transport and it does not necessary reflect significant losses pre and post-slaughter.
Licença::	© 2020 dos Santos et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232004
Appears in Collections:	Artigos publicados em periódicos e afins

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