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Odor Transport by Particulate Matter in High Density Poultry Houses
Odor Transport by Particulate Matter in High Density Poultry Houses W I L L I A M E.
BURNETT
Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850 (Received for publication June 20, 1968)
M
ODERN commercial high density poultry houses contain high concentrations of airborne particulate matter. Concentrations as high as 1.16 mg. per cubic foot of air have been reported (Anderson et al., 1966). This concentration is twenty-five times greater than the maximum reported in urban atmospheres (Wolfe et al., 1967). Smith and O'Meara (1965) found that the concentration of particulate matter in a poultry house was related to the bodily activity of the birds; the greater the activity, the greater the concentration of airborne particulates. The particulate matter consists of fecal matter, feed particles, as well as feather and epidermal fragments (Koon et al., 1963; and Smith and O'Meara, 1964). Day and Lebeda (1964) found that particulate matter collected from the atmosphere of a swine confinement building was odoriferous. Gas chromatographic analyses were performed on an extract of the dust. Several very volatile, low molecular weight compounds were found. These were not identified, but presumably some were odoriferous. The present report investigates the concentrations of airborne particulate matter in a high density poultry house and the role of particulate matter as an odor transport mechanism. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Particulate Collection. Measurements of total airborne particulate matter were made in a commercial poultry house containing 15,000 White Leghorn laying hens in cages over "wet" pits. A Staplex, Model
TFIA, high-volume air sampler1 equipped with four inch diameter hard surface filters (Staplex type TFA#41) was used to collect the particulates from large volumes of the air within the confinement building. The filters were dried in a 100°C. oven before weighing on an analytical balance both prior to and after particulate collection. After collection, but before the final drying and weighing, the filters were submitted to an odor panel of 8 to 10 persons for organoleptic evaluation. Gas Chromatography. The gas chromatographic analyses required larger amounts of particulate matter than what could be obtained by high volume air sampling. Large quantities of particulates were conveniently collected from the walls of the poultry house near the ventilation fans. The particulates collected in this manner had an odor identical to those collected by air filtration. A water slurry of the particulates was made by adding 50 grams of the particulates to 400 ml. of distilled water in a liter flask. The flask was placed in a 70°C. water bath and connected to an assembly for collection of volatiles described by Hornstein and Crowe (1962). The volatile compounds were stripped from the particulate slurry with nitrogen gas (flow rate: 50 ml. per minute for 3 hours) and were collected in a two foot, coiled section of a gas chromatographic column im1
Available from the Staplex Company, Air Sampler Division, 777 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11232.
182
183
ODOR TRANSPORT
mersed in a dry ice-acetone bath (— 78°C.) (Hornstein and Crowe, 1962). The collected volatiles were then separated by gas-solid chromatography using a Varian Aerograph model 1520-B gas chromatograph2 equipped with a flame ionization detector. The gas chromatographic conditions were as follows: precolumn (for collection of volatiles): 2' X i " stainless steel Porapak Q, 50/80 mesh; main column: same as pre-column; temperature program: 75°C. for 2 minutes followed by an 8°C./minute increase for 11 minutes, 10°C./minute increase for 6 minutes, 12°C./minute increase for 1 minute and then held at 230° C. until completion of the analysis; helium flow: 30 ml./minute at 65 PSI inlet pressure; hydrogen flow: 30 ml./minute; air flow: 300 ml./minute; detector temperature: 285°C; recorder attenuation: X2; electrometer range: 0.1 (most sensitive); and chart speed: 20 inches/hour. An effluent stream splitter was installed in the instrument which split the effluent from the column so that 20% went through the detector and 80% through the exit port. The characteristic odor of each fraction that emerged from the column was described by an observer. An attendant stationed at the chromatograph recorder wrote down each of these odor descriptions near the peak which corresponded to the odoriferous fraction. This method was similar to that used by Guadagni et al. (1966) to assess the role of the various aroma fractions in Delicious Apple essence. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the particulate collections are summarized in Table 1. The average concentration of particulate matter over 2
Varian Aerograph, 2700 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598.
TABLE 1.—Particulate matter in a commercial poultry house with liquid manure handling Date of collection
Total particulates (mg./cubic foot air)
January 8, 1968
0.100
January 10, 1968
0.093 0.124* 0.090 0.077 0.102 0.060 0.090 0.104
January 15, 1968 January 17, 1968 January 22, 1968 High Value: 0.124 mg./CF* Low Value: 0.060 mg./CF Average Value: 0.093 mg./CF
* The particulates were collected during a period when hens were being removed from cages.
the test period was 0.093 mg. per cubic foot of air which is about twice the maximum found in the urban atmosphere (Anonymous, 1963). The maximum value of 0.124 mg. per cubic foot was obtained when some birds were being removed from cages in the house. This result is similar to that obtained by Smith and O'Meara (1965) and indicates that the level of airborne particules in confinement houses is indeed directly related to bird activity. The particulate matter was found to carry a "chicken house" odor as judged by the odor panel. After the filters with the trapped particulates were dried at 100°C. or after they were left standing at room temperature for 12 hours or more, they lost their characteristic odor. This result indicated that the odor was evidently due to a volatile compound or series of compounds associated with the particulates. The gas chromatographic analyses correlated with organoleptic evaluations revealed the presence of a number of volatile compounds, some of which had quite strong and/or offensive odors (Figure 1). No individual volatile compound represented by a peak on the
184
W. E. BURNETT RECORDER
RESPONSE
I
O
z
fruity odor odorless
!
the particulates had a "chicken house" odor. Gas chromatographic analyses of the volatiles carried by the particulates revealed the presence of a number of individually odoriferous compounds. Large quantities of particulate matter are probably expelled from poultry houses by ventilation fans. Whether particulate matter plays a significant role in ambient odors from poultry houses should be investigated since the particulates represent a retentive source of odors.
offensive acrid odor
grassy odor
grassy o d o r
FIG. 1. A typical gas chromatogram of the volatiles from poultry house particulates and their corresponding odors.
chromatogram possessed the characteristic "chicken house" odor. Therefore, it appears that the typical odor carried by the particulates is a blend of a series of individually odoriferous components. Presumably, if these fractions were isolated and recombined in the right proportions, they would collectively produce the characteristic "chicken house" odor. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Particulate matter has been implicated as an odor transport mechanism in poultry houses. Particulate matter collected by high volume samplings of a commercial poultry house atmosphere revealed that
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author thanks Bradley Gormel and James Cooper for their technical assistance. The work was supported in part by the New York State Department of Health, Contract No. C-1101. REFERENCES Anderson, D . P., C. W. Beard and P. P. Hanson, 1966. Influence of poultry house dust, ammonia and carbon dioxide on the resistance of chickensto Newcastle Disease virus. Avian Diseases, 10 r 178-188. Anonymous, 1963. Air Quality Data. Annual Report of United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Washington, D. C. Day, D. L., and D. L. Lebeda, 1964. Swine housing environment. Annual Report of Cooperative Regional Projects, Project NC-72, University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. Guadagni, D. G., S. Okano, R. G. Buttery and H. K. Burr, 1966. Correlation of sensory and gasliquid chromatographic measurements of apple volatiles. Food Technology, 20: 166-169. Homstein, I., and P. Crowe, 1962. Gas chromatography of food volatiles—An improved collection system. Anal. Chem. 34: 1354. Koon, J., J. R. Howes, W. Grub and C. A. Rollo, 1963. Poultry dust: origin and composition. Agricultural Engineering, November issue, 608609. Smith, N., and D. C. O'Meara, 1964. The effect of dust on the physiology and productive performance of poultry. Annual Report of Cooperative Regional Project NE-8, University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
ODOR TRANSPORT Smith, N., and D. C. O'Meara, 1965. The effect of dust on the physiology and productive performance of poultry. Annual Report of Cooperative Regional Project NE-8, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. Wolfe, R. R., D. P. Anderson, F. L., Cherms, Jr. and W. E. Roper, 1967. Effect of dust and ammonia air contamination on turkey response.
185
ASAE Paper No. 67-424, Presented at 60th Annual Meeting of ASAE, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, June 27-30, 1967. Note: Reference to a company or product name does not imply approval or recommendation of the product by Cornell University to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.
Response to Selection for Bursa of Fabricius Weight at Hatching in the Domestic Fowl F. V. M U I R AND R. G. JAAP Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (Received for publication June 21, 1968)
E
XTENSIVE research has been published relating the bursa of Fabricius and antibody production as well as limited evidence involving the bursa and adrenals in the stress complex. A major portion of this research has involved the results of elimination of the bursa, either hormonally or surgically, rather than any effect of increased size. Muir and Jaap (1967) observed a negative genetic correlation between bursa weight at hatching and post-hatching body growth of chickens. Glick (1955) and Jaap (1958) speculated that the greater disease resistance of Leghorn chickens (Hutt, 1958) may be due to their larger bursae at hatching. Sadler and Glick (1962) obtained higher antibody titers to injections of Vibrio fetus in birds with larger bursae. A large bursa line from broiler ancestry (Temple and Jaap, 1961) and a Leghorn (King et al., 1959) had no demonstrable difference in mortality during a four-week period following Salmonella pullorum infection (Jaffe and Jaap, 1966). Likewise, there were no significant differences in antibody at 21 days of age due to Salmonella typhimurium infection. Comparable bursa
weight at hatching in these populations was 107 mg. and 51 mg. The difference in bursa weight between these divergent populations had disappeared by four weeks of age (Muir, 1967). Glick and Dreesen (1967) were not able to detect any difference in antibody response in lines selected four generations for large and small bursa weight. Genetic effects on bursa weight at hatching are relatively large (Glick, 1955, 1956; Jaap, 1960). Evidence from diallel matings (Jaap, 1960; Goodman and Jaap, 1960) indicates that about half of the genetic effects may be non-additive. Rapid progress from selective breeding was reported by Temple and Jaap (1961), increasing bursa weight 36 percent by only three generations or selection for bursa weight at hatching. The first generation parents were selected on the basis of either a sib or progeny test. Potential parents of the second and third generations were bursectomized and individual selection made on the basis of bursa weight at hatching, Glick and Dressen (1967) developed strains exhibiting increased and decreased bursa weight at one, three, and five weeks
BURNETT
Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850 (Received for publication June 20, 1968)
M
ODERN commercial high density poultry houses contain high concentrations of airborne particulate matter. Concentrations as high as 1.16 mg. per cubic foot of air have been reported (Anderson et al., 1966). This concentration is twenty-five times greater than the maximum reported in urban atmospheres (Wolfe et al., 1967). Smith and O'Meara (1965) found that the concentration of particulate matter in a poultry house was related to the bodily activity of the birds; the greater the activity, the greater the concentration of airborne particulates. The particulate matter consists of fecal matter, feed particles, as well as feather and epidermal fragments (Koon et al., 1963; and Smith and O'Meara, 1964). Day and Lebeda (1964) found that particulate matter collected from the atmosphere of a swine confinement building was odoriferous. Gas chromatographic analyses were performed on an extract of the dust. Several very volatile, low molecular weight compounds were found. These were not identified, but presumably some were odoriferous. The present report investigates the concentrations of airborne particulate matter in a high density poultry house and the role of particulate matter as an odor transport mechanism. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Particulate Collection. Measurements of total airborne particulate matter were made in a commercial poultry house containing 15,000 White Leghorn laying hens in cages over "wet" pits. A Staplex, Model
TFIA, high-volume air sampler1 equipped with four inch diameter hard surface filters (Staplex type TFA#41) was used to collect the particulates from large volumes of the air within the confinement building. The filters were dried in a 100°C. oven before weighing on an analytical balance both prior to and after particulate collection. After collection, but before the final drying and weighing, the filters were submitted to an odor panel of 8 to 10 persons for organoleptic evaluation. Gas Chromatography. The gas chromatographic analyses required larger amounts of particulate matter than what could be obtained by high volume air sampling. Large quantities of particulates were conveniently collected from the walls of the poultry house near the ventilation fans. The particulates collected in this manner had an odor identical to those collected by air filtration. A water slurry of the particulates was made by adding 50 grams of the particulates to 400 ml. of distilled water in a liter flask. The flask was placed in a 70°C. water bath and connected to an assembly for collection of volatiles described by Hornstein and Crowe (1962). The volatile compounds were stripped from the particulate slurry with nitrogen gas (flow rate: 50 ml. per minute for 3 hours) and were collected in a two foot, coiled section of a gas chromatographic column im1
Available from the Staplex Company, Air Sampler Division, 777 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11232.
182
183
ODOR TRANSPORT
mersed in a dry ice-acetone bath (— 78°C.) (Hornstein and Crowe, 1962). The collected volatiles were then separated by gas-solid chromatography using a Varian Aerograph model 1520-B gas chromatograph2 equipped with a flame ionization detector. The gas chromatographic conditions were as follows: precolumn (for collection of volatiles): 2' X i " stainless steel Porapak Q, 50/80 mesh; main column: same as pre-column; temperature program: 75°C. for 2 minutes followed by an 8°C./minute increase for 11 minutes, 10°C./minute increase for 6 minutes, 12°C./minute increase for 1 minute and then held at 230° C. until completion of the analysis; helium flow: 30 ml./minute at 65 PSI inlet pressure; hydrogen flow: 30 ml./minute; air flow: 300 ml./minute; detector temperature: 285°C; recorder attenuation: X2; electrometer range: 0.1 (most sensitive); and chart speed: 20 inches/hour. An effluent stream splitter was installed in the instrument which split the effluent from the column so that 20% went through the detector and 80% through the exit port. The characteristic odor of each fraction that emerged from the column was described by an observer. An attendant stationed at the chromatograph recorder wrote down each of these odor descriptions near the peak which corresponded to the odoriferous fraction. This method was similar to that used by Guadagni et al. (1966) to assess the role of the various aroma fractions in Delicious Apple essence. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the particulate collections are summarized in Table 1. The average concentration of particulate matter over 2
Varian Aerograph, 2700 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598.
TABLE 1.—Particulate matter in a commercial poultry house with liquid manure handling Date of collection
Total particulates (mg./cubic foot air)
January 8, 1968
0.100
January 10, 1968
0.093 0.124* 0.090 0.077 0.102 0.060 0.090 0.104
January 15, 1968 January 17, 1968 January 22, 1968 High Value: 0.124 mg./CF* Low Value: 0.060 mg./CF Average Value: 0.093 mg./CF
* The particulates were collected during a period when hens were being removed from cages.
the test period was 0.093 mg. per cubic foot of air which is about twice the maximum found in the urban atmosphere (Anonymous, 1963). The maximum value of 0.124 mg. per cubic foot was obtained when some birds were being removed from cages in the house. This result is similar to that obtained by Smith and O'Meara (1965) and indicates that the level of airborne particules in confinement houses is indeed directly related to bird activity. The particulate matter was found to carry a "chicken house" odor as judged by the odor panel. After the filters with the trapped particulates were dried at 100°C. or after they were left standing at room temperature for 12 hours or more, they lost their characteristic odor. This result indicated that the odor was evidently due to a volatile compound or series of compounds associated with the particulates. The gas chromatographic analyses correlated with organoleptic evaluations revealed the presence of a number of volatile compounds, some of which had quite strong and/or offensive odors (Figure 1). No individual volatile compound represented by a peak on the
184
W. E. BURNETT RECORDER
RESPONSE
I
O
z
fruity odor odorless
!
the particulates had a "chicken house" odor. Gas chromatographic analyses of the volatiles carried by the particulates revealed the presence of a number of individually odoriferous compounds. Large quantities of particulate matter are probably expelled from poultry houses by ventilation fans. Whether particulate matter plays a significant role in ambient odors from poultry houses should be investigated since the particulates represent a retentive source of odors.
offensive acrid odor
grassy odor
grassy o d o r
FIG. 1. A typical gas chromatogram of the volatiles from poultry house particulates and their corresponding odors.
chromatogram possessed the characteristic "chicken house" odor. Therefore, it appears that the typical odor carried by the particulates is a blend of a series of individually odoriferous components. Presumably, if these fractions were isolated and recombined in the right proportions, they would collectively produce the characteristic "chicken house" odor. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Particulate matter has been implicated as an odor transport mechanism in poultry houses. Particulate matter collected by high volume samplings of a commercial poultry house atmosphere revealed that
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author thanks Bradley Gormel and James Cooper for their technical assistance. The work was supported in part by the New York State Department of Health, Contract No. C-1101. REFERENCES Anderson, D . P., C. W. Beard and P. P. Hanson, 1966. Influence of poultry house dust, ammonia and carbon dioxide on the resistance of chickensto Newcastle Disease virus. Avian Diseases, 10 r 178-188. Anonymous, 1963. Air Quality Data. Annual Report of United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Washington, D. C. Day, D. L., and D. L. Lebeda, 1964. Swine housing environment. Annual Report of Cooperative Regional Projects, Project NC-72, University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. Guadagni, D. G., S. Okano, R. G. Buttery and H. K. Burr, 1966. Correlation of sensory and gasliquid chromatographic measurements of apple volatiles. Food Technology, 20: 166-169. Homstein, I., and P. Crowe, 1962. Gas chromatography of food volatiles—An improved collection system. Anal. Chem. 34: 1354. Koon, J., J. R. Howes, W. Grub and C. A. Rollo, 1963. Poultry dust: origin and composition. Agricultural Engineering, November issue, 608609. Smith, N., and D. C. O'Meara, 1964. The effect of dust on the physiology and productive performance of poultry. Annual Report of Cooperative Regional Project NE-8, University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
ODOR TRANSPORT Smith, N., and D. C. O'Meara, 1965. The effect of dust on the physiology and productive performance of poultry. Annual Report of Cooperative Regional Project NE-8, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. Wolfe, R. R., D. P. Anderson, F. L., Cherms, Jr. and W. E. Roper, 1967. Effect of dust and ammonia air contamination on turkey response.
185
ASAE Paper No. 67-424, Presented at 60th Annual Meeting of ASAE, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, June 27-30, 1967. Note: Reference to a company or product name does not imply approval or recommendation of the product by Cornell University to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.
Response to Selection for Bursa of Fabricius Weight at Hatching in the Domestic Fowl F. V. M U I R AND R. G. JAAP Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (Received for publication June 21, 1968)
E
XTENSIVE research has been published relating the bursa of Fabricius and antibody production as well as limited evidence involving the bursa and adrenals in the stress complex. A major portion of this research has involved the results of elimination of the bursa, either hormonally or surgically, rather than any effect of increased size. Muir and Jaap (1967) observed a negative genetic correlation between bursa weight at hatching and post-hatching body growth of chickens. Glick (1955) and Jaap (1958) speculated that the greater disease resistance of Leghorn chickens (Hutt, 1958) may be due to their larger bursae at hatching. Sadler and Glick (1962) obtained higher antibody titers to injections of Vibrio fetus in birds with larger bursae. A large bursa line from broiler ancestry (Temple and Jaap, 1961) and a Leghorn (King et al., 1959) had no demonstrable difference in mortality during a four-week period following Salmonella pullorum infection (Jaffe and Jaap, 1966). Likewise, there were no significant differences in antibody at 21 days of age due to Salmonella typhimurium infection. Comparable bursa
weight at hatching in these populations was 107 mg. and 51 mg. The difference in bursa weight between these divergent populations had disappeared by four weeks of age (Muir, 1967). Glick and Dreesen (1967) were not able to detect any difference in antibody response in lines selected four generations for large and small bursa weight. Genetic effects on bursa weight at hatching are relatively large (Glick, 1955, 1956; Jaap, 1960). Evidence from diallel matings (Jaap, 1960; Goodman and Jaap, 1960) indicates that about half of the genetic effects may be non-additive. Rapid progress from selective breeding was reported by Temple and Jaap (1961), increasing bursa weight 36 percent by only three generations or selection for bursa weight at hatching. The first generation parents were selected on the basis of either a sib or progeny test. Potential parents of the second and third generations were bursectomized and individual selection made on the basis of bursa weight at hatching, Glick and Dressen (1967) developed strains exhibiting increased and decreased bursa weight at one, three, and five weeks