Application of infrared thermography as an indicator of heat increment by feeding

• Grant number: 11/05017-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2011
• End date: February 28, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Lenira El Faro Zadra
• Grantee: Suelen Corrêa da Silva
• Host Institution: Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This study aims to map the temperature of the body surface of the Jersey to be used as a standard temperature and assist in comparisons of treatments in studies of diet and nutrition, breeding, production and pathology. And to correlate the infrared thermography with the dynamic behavior of fermentative digestion of ruminants and start developing a methodology to associate these images with increased caloric caused by the digestion of food to assist in studies of animal nutrition and feeding. For this to be carried out two experiments at the Experimental Farm of the APTA, Ribeirão Preto, with 24 heifers Jerseys and made measurements in all animals of infrared thermography, heart rate, rectal temperature, rumen parameters (temperature, pH, volatile fatty acids and ammonia nitrogen) and estimation of heat production by simulation in a computer program and ruminal temperature. (AU)