Dust and Bacterial Air Contamination in a Broiler House in Summer and Winter

Ivica Ravić, Mario Ostović (), Anamaria Ekert Kabalin, Matija Kovačić, Kristina Matković, Željko Gottstein and Danijela Horvatek Tomić
Additional contact information
Ivica Ravić: Independent Researcher, 88220 Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mario Ostović: Department of Animal Hygiene, Behavior and Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Anamaria Ekert Kabalin: Department of Animal Breeding and Livestock Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Matija Kovačić: Kovačić Family Farm, Šopron, 48267 Orehovec, Croatia
Kristina Matković: Department of Animal Hygiene, Behavior and Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Željko Gottstein: Department of Poultry Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Danijela Horvatek Tomić: Department of Poultry Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate dust and bacterial air contamination in a broiler house during different seasons. The study was carried out in commercial housing conditions during five weeks of the rearing cycle in summer and winter. The total dust concentration ranged from 1.90 to 4.50 mg/m 3 in summer and from 2.80 to 5.10 mg/m 3 in winter. The total bacterial count ranged from 2.85 × 10 4 to 1.03 × 10 5 CFU/m 3 in summer and from 2.12 × 10 4 to 2.28 × 10 5 CFU/m 3 in winter. The study results showed the dust concentration to be increased in winter as compared to summer, yielding a significant correlation (r = 0.602, p < 0.05) with a significantly higher airborne bacterial count in winter ( p < 0.001). Furthermore, dust concentration showed significant correlations ( p < 0.05) with air temperature (r = −0.418), relative humidity (r = 0.673), and broiler activity (r = 0.709), while bacterial count yielded significant correlations ( p < 0.05) with air temperature (r = −0.756), relative humidity (r = 0.831), and airflow rate (r = 0.511). The results obtained in the study can prove useful in the field. Seasonal variability in dust and bacterial air contamination should be considered in the development of guidelines or standards of air quality in broiler housing and evaluation of the effectiveness of remedial strategies.

Keywords: poultry; air quality; seasonal variability; airborne dust; airborne bacteria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/5/778/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/5/778/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:5:p:778-:d:1397219

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().