Research Article

Analysis of building thermal dimensioning and housing system of White Kołuda geese in terms of assessing their welfare

Teresa Bombik, Barbara Biesiada-Drzazga, Elżbieta Bombik, Izabela Szumigłowska, Małgorzata Bednarczyk-Szurmak, Beata Trawińska

¹Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Poland

²University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(1), 2015, 33‒40

Abstract. The aim of the study was to analyze building heat retention and the housing system of White Kołuda geese and their effects on animal welfare. The analyses were carried out on two farms located in Lubelskie province, Poland. The facilities differed in the stock size, housing system (on litter bedding, on grid), and the type of roof (sloped roof with attic or flat roof/ceiling). The analysis of thermal properties of the buildings was carried out basing on the Thermal Properties Index (TPI). The welfare was estimated observing the pattern of air temperature and humidity changes during winter. The results suggest that the welfare of the breeder geese was at a lower level. Better conditions, though still far from the welfare optimum, were observed in the goose house with litter floor bedding and with usable attic, with a lower cubature and a higher TPI values.

Keywords: goose, house thermal properties, housing system, welfare