The water inlet and outlet temperatures, cage air temperatures, and loop water flow rates during stable system operation were measured for performance evaluation. Each loop pump was thermostatically controlled based on the cage air temperature. Each thermal storage was cooled by continuously circulating water through a water chiller. Flow for each loop was provided by loop pumps that drew chilled water from an open thermal storage manifold and returned it to the same manifold. A total of 324 White Leghorns at 17 weeks of age were randomly assigned to 36 cages (76 cm × 52 cm × 48 cm) in six banks placed in the same room. The cooled perch system consisted of two replicates (CP-1 and CP-2) of three-tier cage units with galvanized perch pipes forming a complete loop in each tier (top, middle, bottom) in which chilled water circulated.
This article summarizes the engineering design and performance of a cooled perch system used in a multi-year collaborative study to evaluate cooled perch effects on hen production, health, and welfare during heat stress. This analysis provides a baseline for future cooled perch system design in other application settings.Ībstract. The average daily net heat absorption data, useful for sizing thermal water storage and chiller capacity in future applications, is 256 W m ⁻¹ perch length, or 43.2 W per hen housed. Water flow rates, perch loop water temperatures, and system net heat gain are provided.
This article summarizes the design and performance of a cooled perch system for laying hens during heat stress.
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