Industrial swine production and use of information technology in studying bioclimatic behavior during gestation and maternity phases

• Grant number: 05/05192-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Technical Training Program - Technical Training
• Start date: April 01, 2006
• End date: November 30, 2006
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Rural Buildings and Ambience
• Principal Investigator: Iran José Oliveira da Silva
• Grantee: Elisabete Maria Mellace
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 04/11074-6 - Industrial swine production and use of information technology in studying bioclimatic behavior during gestation and maternity phases, AP.R

Abstract

This study evaluates different housing systems for pregnant sows aiming to describe quantitative and qualitative aspects of environment, as well as variables that is effect on production system. The optimal conditions for animal performance improvement will be determined analyzing behavioral data took in breeding environment. Trial is carry out from in a farm specialized in industrial production of pork, located in Elias Fausto City, São Paulo State. In gestation facility 24 gilts were allocated: 12 in individual stalls (T1) and 12 in group housing (T2). Further, in farrowing housing, piglets are evaluated in relation to their production variables. Basically, this study will divide in three steps in function of the way chose for data analysis: bioclimatic analysis; analysis of the production systems; evaluation of the available intelligent systems: fuzzy logic and artificial neural nets (ANNs) for studying environmental thermal comfort patterns and prediction of productive indexes, birth weights and number of mummified piglets, in the function on data of environmental temperature and sow respiratory rates. Bioclimatic evaluation will be realize by registering meteorological variables (environmental temperature, air humidity, dark globe temperature and wind velocity) and environmental variables (concentration of gases) inside of parturition room and in external environment, which permit to characterize thermal efficiency by indexes of globe temperature and humidity (IGTH) and specific enthalpy (h) and salubrious condition of facility.