The relationship between cold-weather broiler chicken transport conditions and flock mortality

肉鸡用拖车从农场运到加工厂。被动通风被用来清除鸟类环境中的热量、二氧化碳和水分。在夏天，这通常不会造成问题，但在寒冷的天气里，被动通风会减少，方法是关闭通风口，并用防水布覆盖拖车的侧面，以防止鸟类变得寒冷。然而，空气流量的减少会导致水分的滞留，而缺乏混合可能会导致拖车内的区域积热。由于拖车没有单一的标准设计，司机依靠经验和直觉来配置通风口和防水布，以最大限度地减少对鸟类的温度压力，并优化鸟类的福利。 加拿大食品检验局要求禽鸟到达时死亡的比例(DOA)保持在1%以下；如果水平高于这一水平，就会启动调查，加工厂、捕捞人员和/或运输公司可能会受到经济处罚。此外，次优的运输条件可能会影响禽类福利和肉类质量。 拟议的研究是帮助行业合作伙伴识别在鸡肉运输过程中不同环境温度下整个运输拖车环境条件变化的重要第一步。有了这些知识，司机将能够更好地随着环境温度的变化调整通风条件。

Broiler chickens are transported from the farm to the processing plant in trailers. Passive ventilation is used to remove heat, carbon dioxide and moisture form the birds' environment. In the summer, this does not normally pose a problem, but in cold weather, passive ventilation is reduced by closing vents and covering the sides of the trailers with tarps to prevent the birds from becoming chilled. However, the reduction in air flow results in retention of moisture, and the lack of mixing can result in areas within the trailer having a buildup of heat. Because there is no single standard design for trailers, drivers rely on experience and intuition to configure the vents and tarps to minimize the temperature stress on the birds and optimize bird welfare. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires that the proportion of birds dead on arrival (DOA) remain below 1%; if levels are above this, an investigation is initiated, and the processing plant, catching crew and/or transport company can be penalized financially. In addition, sub-optimal transport conditions can compromise bird welfare and meat quality. The proposed research is an important first step in helping the industry partner to identify the variations in environmental conditions throughout the transport trailer under different ambient temperatures during chicken transport. With this knowledge, drivers will be better able to adjust ventilation conditions as environmental temperatures change.