Evaluation of the Behavior of Piglets in Different Heating Systems using Analysis of Image and Electronic Identification

The objective of this research was to evaluate the behavior of piglets in different heating systems using image analysis (IA) and electronic identification devices (EI). The experiment was conducted from June to August of 2002, in a commercial swine production farm, located in Elias Fausto city, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The research was developed in the farrowing house, with 80 newborn piglets distributed in eight studied creep heating. Four heating systems were studied: floor heating panel, standard heat lamp, electric resistance and infrared lamp. Dry, wet bulb and black globe temperatures, were measured inside and outside the creeps with T termocouples and recorded each 60 minutes in a datalogger. The thermal comfort indexes: black globe humidity index (BGHI), radiant heat load (RHL) and enthalpy (H) were calculated using the recorded climatic parameters. Piglets daily weight gain (DWG) and mortality were registered too. The behavior of the piglets was evaluated using the image analysis, electronic identification and geoestatistical techniques. The images were taken using video cameras that were installed in each creep, being recorded in a PC by an Image Capture Board. The EI devices consisted in a transponder that was injected inside the ear base of each piglet and antennas installed in eac