This work investigated alternative ventilation schemes to help define a proper ventilation system design in cage-free hen houses with the goal of assuring bird welfare through comfortable conditions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was employed to simulate indoor and outdoor airflows to quantify the effectiveness of ventilation systems in maintaining suitable and uniform living conditions at the hen level. Four three-dimensional CFD models were developed based on a full-scale floor-raised layer house, corresponding to ventilation schemes of the standard top-wall inlet, sidewall exhaust, and three alternatives: mid-wall inlet, ceiling exhaust; mid-wall inlet, ridge exhaust; and mid-wall inlet, attic exhaust with potential for pre-treatment of exhaust air. In a sophisticated and powerful achievement of the analysis, 2365 birds were individually modeled with simplified bird-shapes to represent a realistic number, body heat, and airflow obstruction of hens housed. The simulated ventilation rate for the layer house models was 1.9–2.0 m³/s (4100 ft³/min) in the desired range for cold weather (0 °C). Simulation results and subsequent analyses demonstrated that these alternative models had the capacity to create satisfactory comfortable temperature and air velocity at the hen level. A full-scale CFD model with individual hen models presented robustness in evaluating bird welfare conditions.

An ammonia gas (NH₃) generator was developed to maintain a set concentration of ammonia gas in a controlled environment chamber to study poultry physiological responses to sustained elevated levels of ammonia gas. The goal was to maintain 50 parts per million (ppm) of ammonia gas in a 3.7 m × 4.3 m × 2.4 m (12 ft × 14 ft × 8 ft) controlled environment chamber. The chamber had a 1.5 m³/s (3000 cfm) recirculation system that regulated indoor temperature and humidity levels and a 0.06 m³/s (130 cfm) exhaust fan that exchanged indoor air for fresh outdoor air. The ammonia generator was fabricated by coupling ultrasonic humidifiers with an Arduino-based microcontroller and a metallic oxide MQ-137 ammonia gas sensor. Preliminary evaluation under steady conditions showed the average MQ-137 gas sensor accuracy was within 1.4% of the 65.4 ppm concentration measured using a highly accurate infrared gas analyzer. Further evaluation was performed for a setpoint concentration of 50 ppm where ammonia generator reservoirs were filled with 2% or 10% ammonia liquid. For the system tested, it was found that two generators operating at the same time filled with 3.8 L (1.0 gallon) of 2% ammonia cleaning liquid each (7.6 L or 2.0 gallons total) could maintain a gas level of 49.45 ± 0.79 ppm in the chamber air for a duration of 30 h before refilling was required. One generator filled with 3.8 L of 10% ammonia cleaning liquid could maintain 51.24 ± 1.53 ppm for 195 h. Two ammonia generators were deployed for a six-week animal health experiment in two separate controlled environment chambers. The two ammonia generators maintained an average ammonia concentration of 46.42 ± 3.81 ppm and 45.63 ± 4.95 ppm for the duration of the experiment.

Poultry facilities are going through an evolution in design due to growing demands for cage-free eggs and egg products without unified guidelines to accommodate these transitions. The goal of this study was to help builders and egg producers assess current ventilation design within cage-free production facilities for conditions that impact hen comfort and welfare. The method of evaluation was simulation of the indoor environment of a hen house via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling with individual hens modeled at a typical stocking density. This paper describes the development of a three-dimensional model of a commercial floor-raised cage-free hen house that is cross-ventilated to document current environmental conditions. A one-eighth section of the barn was modeled at full-scale using existing ventilation schemes with each bird represented by a hen-shaped, heated, solid body. A conventional top-wall inlet, side-wall exhaust (TISE) ventilation configuration was modeled for this study. The simulated ventilation rate for the hen house was approximately 3 m³/h (1.77 ft³/min) per hen resulting in 7092 m³/h (4174 ft³/min) for the 2365 birds, which falls at the higher end of the desired cold weather (0 °C) ventilation range. Contours of airflow, temperature, and pressure were generated to visualize results. Three two-dimensional planes were created at representative cross-sections to evaluate the contours inside and outside the barn. Five animal-occupied zones within each of the model planes were evaluated for practical hen comfort attributes. The simulation output suggested the TISE standard ventilation system could limit air speed to a comfortable average of 0.26 m/s (51 ft/min) and the temperature could be maintained between 18 and 24 °C on average at the bird level. Additionally, the indoor static pressure difference was very uniform averaging −25 Pascal (0.1 inches of water), which falls in the normal range for a floor-raised hen house with negative-pressure ventilation during cold weather conditions. Findings confirmed that CFD modeling can be a powerful tool for studying ventilation system performance at the bird level, particularly when individual animals are modeled, to assure a comfortable indoor environment for animal welfare in poultry facilities.

A dust generator was developed to disperse and maintain a desired concentration of airborne dust in a controlled environment chamber to study poultry physiological response to sustained elevated levels of particulate matter. The goal was to maintain an indicated PM10 concentration of 50 µg/m³ of airborne dust in a 3.7 m × 4.3 m × 2.4 m (12 ft × 14 ft × 8 ft) controlled environment chamber. The chamber had a 1.5 m³/s (3200 cfm) filtered recirculation air handling system that regulated indoor temperature levels and a 0.06 m³/s (130 cfm) exhaust fan that exchanged indoor air for fresh outdoor air. Dry powdered red oak wood dust that passed through an 80-mesh screen cloth was used for the experiment. The dust generator metered dust from a rectangular feed hopper with a flat bottom belt to a 0.02 m³/s (46 cfm) centrifugal blower. A vibratory motor attached to the hopper ran only when the belt was operated to prevent bridging of powdered materials and to provide an even material feed rate. A laser particle counter was used to measure the concentration of airborne dust and provided feedback to an Arduino-based control system that operated the dust generator. The dust generator was operated using a duty cycle of one second on for every five seconds off to allow time for dispersed dust to mix with chamber air and reach the laser particle counter. The control system maintained an airborne PM10 dust concentration of 54.92 ± 6.42 µg/m³ in the controlled environment chamber during six weeks of continuous operation using red oak wood dust. An advantage of the automatically controlled dust generator was that it continued to operate to reach the setpoint concentration in response to changes in material flow due to humidity, partial blockages, and non-uniform composition of the material being dispersed. Challenges included dust being trapped by the recirculation filter and the exhaust fan removing airborne dust from the environmental chamber.

The current ventilation designs of poultry barns have been present deficiencies with respect to the capacity to protect against disease exposure, especially during epidemic events. An evolution of ventilation options is needed in the egg industry to keep pace with the advancing transition to cage-free production. In this study, we analyzed the performances of four ventilation schemes for constraining airborne disease spread in a commercial cage-free hen house using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. In total, four three-dimensional models were developed to compare a standard ventilation configuration (top-wall inlet sidewall exhaust, TISE) with three alternative designs, all with mid-wall inlet and a central vertical exhaust. A one-eighth scale commercial floor-raised hen house with 2365 hens served as the model. Each ventilation configuration simulated airflow and surrogate airborne virus particle spread, assuming the initial virus was introduced from upwind inlets. Simulation outputs predicted the MICE and MIAE models maintained a reduced average bird level at 47% and 24%, respectively, of the standard TISE model, although the MIRE model predicted comparable virus mass fraction levels with TISE. These numerical differences unveiled the critical role of centrally located vertical exhaust in removing contaminated, virus-laden air from the birds housing environment. Moreover, the auxiliary attic space in the MIAE model was beneficial for keeping virus particles above the bird-occupied floor area.

Recent advances in electronics components such as microcontrollers and sensors, plus widespread availability of 3D printing, make it possible to construct all-in-one datalogger and control systems in purpose-built enclosures. In addition, microcontrollers can be easily reprogrammed for different purposes including environmental measurement and control of external devices. Since specific needs vary widely across agricultural systems, on-farm research often requires custom instrumentation and datalogging solutions. A custom-built all-in-one environmental measurement and control system (EMCS) was developed for animal health research studies. The system integrates an array of environmental sensors to detect and record luminosity, carbon dioxide and ammonia gas concentrations, dust particle counts, air speed, temperature, and humidity. The developed system is presented along with a case study where environment monitors were deployed to control ammonia and dust in controlled environment chambers for a six-week broiler health study.