Bioclimatic zoning for quails in the rain season in the state of Paraíba, Brazil

This work aimed to perform bioclimatic zoning based on the temperature and humidity index (THI) for quails from the 3rd to the 5th week of life during the rainy season in the state of Paraíba, Brazil, in order to identify the most suitable mesoregions among the Zona da Mata, Agreste, Borborema and Sertão for the breeding of these birds and to propose mitigating measures for the thermal comfort of the animals. The monthly air temperature and relative humidity data for calculating the THI were obtained from conventional meteorological stations of the National Meteorological Institute of the Brazilian federal government from 1961 to 2015, in turn making maps with the spatial distribution of the index. The index ranged from 71 to 76 in the various mesoregions of Paraíba, with Agreste being the best mesoregion for breeding quails from the 3rd to the 5th week of life, thus providing a thermal comfort zone for birds and only requiring a few corrective measures in their facilities, when necessary, followed by the Sertão, Zona da Mata and Borborema mesoregions.

Ethogram of three genetic groups of goats confined using monitoring video images

The ethogram description of confined goats is an alternative that helps identify animals' behaviour, their main behavior and the importance of developing production systems that provide better welfare conditions. This paper aims to describe the ethogram of three genetic groups of confined goats: Azul, Moxotó and Graúna, through monitoring video images, using 9 animals kept in individual pens, monitored by video cameras mounted on the roof of each pen. As for the design and description of ethogram, 810 hours of video image were recorded and analysed, these being from being nine hours a day periods; three in the morning, afternoon and night. We identified 34 visual behaviours, which were grouped into eight categories according to their functional character: food = 4), social interaction (n = 6), displacement (n = 2), resting (n = 3), grooming (n = 4), neutral position (n = 3), bipedal (n = 5) and other activities (n = 7). In conclusion, behaviors described in the ethogram were similar for all three genetic groups. Goats conduct their daily routine with sequences of behaviour that involve eating (food intake or selection) and resting or ruminating, with social interactions and other activities having happened more frequently in the afternoon and at that time in the afternoon before being provided with food.