O trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito de probióticos e antibióticos utilizados como promotores do crescimento sobre o desempenho de frangos de corte e a capacidade dos agentes de alterar o ecossistema intestinal de aves criadas em baterias e sobre piso. Adicionalmente foi estudado o efeito dos probióticos sobre a presença de oocistos na cama das aves. Os antibióticos tiveram sua eficácia, como promotores de crescimento, comprovada para aves criadas sobre piso, mas não em bateria. Foram observadas alterações na estrutura da comunidade de Bacteria no trato intestinal de frangos criados em baterias e sobre piso e suplementados com antibióticos. Não houve evidência de efeito favorável dos probióticos sobre o desempenho e incidência de oocisto na cama das aves. Os probióticos não tiveram a capacidade de colonizar o epitélio intestinal de frangos de corte. Foram observadas discretas modificações na estrutura da comunidade de Bacteria de frangos criados em bateria e sobre piso e suplementados com dietas contendo probióticos. A estrutura da comunidade de Bacteria do intestino delgado de frangos foi modificada em função do ambiente no qual frangos, suplementados com probióticos e antibióticos, foram criados. Frangos isentos de qualquer tipo de promotor de crescimento apresentaram 15 unidades taxonômicas operacionais distintas na microbiota intestinal aderida ao epitélio, predominantemente Lactobacillus e Pseudomonas. / This study was conducted to evaluated the effects of growth promoter probiotic and antibiotics on the perfomance and organ morphometry of broiler chickens raised in floor pens and in batteries and the ability of the additive to promote changes in the intestinal ecosystem. Additionally, the effect of probiotics on the presence of coccidia oocysts in the litter was evaluated. The efficacy of antibiotics as growth promoters was observed when the chickens were raised in floor pens but not in batteries. Antibiotic supplementation caused changes in the structure of Bacteria community of the intestinal tract of chicken raised in floor pens or in batteries. The probiotic additives tested did not result in improvement in performance in both environmental or in oocyst incidence in the litter. Also, the probiotic did not have the ability to colonize the intestinal epithelium of the birds. Discrete changes in the structure of Bacteria community were observed when probiotics were supplemented to chickens raised in floor pens or in batteries. Bacteria community structure in the small intestine of chicken was modified as a function of the environmental in which the birds were raised. Chicken fed diets devoid of growth promoters had 15 distinct phylogenetic groups in the microbiota adhered to the intestinal epithelium.

A qualidade da carne envolve aspectos estéticos, avaliados pelo consumidor e físico-químicos importantes para o processador, os quais podem ser controlados nas diversas etapas de produção. Na primeira fase, a fim de determinar a qualidade de carcaças e cortes aplicou-se um sistema de classificação, os quais foram avaliados na aparência (conformação, conteúdo de carne, cobertura de gordura, depenagem, carne exposta e corte, ossos quebrados, descolorações e hematomas) e classificados em níveis A, B ou C, decrescendo de nível conforme os defeitos se apresentaram, além analisou-se a capacidade de retenção de água (CRA), para esta fase utilizou-se à análise discriminante e análise de variância. Na segunda fase, foram avaliados os atributos de qualidade (cor, pH, CRA, força cisalhamento, perda de peso por cozimento, composição centesimal, análise sensorial) dos cortes de peito, coxa e sobrecoxa às 5, 24, 48 e 72 horas pós abate, para frangos criados no sistema alternativo. Para análise dos resultados foram utilizadas as análises de médias, regressão múltipla, correlação simples de Pearson e correspondência para os atributos físico-químicos e sensoriais. Na classificação foram avaliadas 301 carcaças e 146, 147 e 145 de cortes de peito, coxa e sobrecoxa respectivamente. Das carcaças analisadas, 79,73% apresentaram algum grau de contusão, sendo que 65,78% destas eram de grau leve, dessa forma, foram classificadas como tipo A. Fazendo uso da análise discriminante, 84,9% das carcaças mostraram-se corretas quanto à classificação utilizada, apresentando diferença significativa entre as classes. Os outros defeitos foram arranhões, corte de pele, depenagem, resíduo de pele, fraturas ou ossos quebrados. Quanto aos cortes (peito, coxa e sobrecoxa), a maioria foi classificada na categoria A. Os cortes de peito, coxa e sobrecoxa apresentaram 87,7, 96,2 e 95% das amostras corretamente classificadas, respectivamente. Foi realizada na análise de CRA para peito e coxa, observando-se que o corte da coxa classificada como A apresentou maior valor de CRA comparada com o tipo C. Na avaliação da qualidade dos cortes de peito, coxa e sobrecoxa, verificou-se o comportamento da carne nas características físico-químicas em quatro períodos distintos: 5, 24, 48 e 72 horas após o abate. Com o decorrer do tempo de maturação, no peito observou-se um aumento no valor de L* e um decréscimo da força de cisalhamento da carne de peito, melhorou a qualidade promovendo um amaciamento da carne, entretanto, para a coxa não apresentou mudanças na qualidade com o decorrer do tempo, apenas foi observado um acréscimo no valor a*, porém a sobrecoxa a partir de 48 horas, os efeitos da proteólise do músculo influenciaram um aumento significativo na perda de peso inversamente ao CRA. Quanto à análise sensorial, não houve diferença entre o frango alternativo e convencional e nem entre as horas pós abate para os três cortes. Também foram realizadas as análises de correlação simples de Pearson e correspondência para os atributos físico-químicos e sensoriais. / Meat quality is related to a esthetical aspects, which are evaluated by the consumer, and to physiochemical aspects, which are important to the meat processor. These aspects can be controlled at the various steps during production. In the first phase of this study, aiming at evaluating carcasses and cuts, a grading system was used by which meat appearance (conformation, fleshing, fat covering, feathers, exposed flesh and cuts, broken bones, skin discoloration and bruises) was evaluated. They were grading in A, B and C class, according to defects, besides analyzing a water holding capacity (WHC), in this phase a discriminant and variance analyses were utilized. In the second phase, the attributes quality (colour values, pH, WHC, shear force, cooking loss, chemical composition, sensory analyses) of breast, drumstick and thigh cuts, from chicken raised in natural system, was evaluated 5, 24, 48 and 72 hours after slaughtering. In order to analyze the results, the following were used: analysis of means, multiple regression, Pearson’s simple correlation and the relationship with the physicochemical and sensorial parameters. At grading, a total of 301 carcasses and 146,147 and 145 breasts, drumsticks and thigh broilers, respectively, were evaluated. The results indicated that 79, 73% of the carcasses contained some degree of bruise and that 65, 78% contained light bruise, thus being classified as class A. Results of the discriminant analysis showed that 84,9% of the carcasses was correctly graded, showing significant difference among the classes. Other defects found were scratches, skin cuts, feathers and skin residue, fractured and broken bones. Breast, thigh and drumstick cuts had 87,7, 96,2 and 95,0% of samples correctly graded, respectively. A C analysis was done for breast and drumstick, showing that the drumstick classified as class A had a higher WHC value compared to class C. At the breasts, drumsticks and thigh broilers evaluation, the physiochemical behavior of the meat was studied in four different periods: 5, 24, 48 and 72 hours after slaughtering. During the aging period, an increase in the L+ value and a decrease in the shear force of the breast meat were observed, resulting in a quality improvement by meat softening. The drumstick did not show changes in quality, and only an increase in the value a* was observed. However, the thigh showed a significant increase on the weight loss inversely to the WHC, due to the effects of the muscle proteolysis. The sensorial analysis for the three cuts no significant difference between both the natural and conventional chicken and the time after slaughtering was observed.

Campylobacter est la principale cause de gastro-entérite bactérienne d’origine alimentaire à travers le monde. Chez les consommateurs, les campylobactérioses d’origine alimentaire sont en grande majorité dues au contact et à la consommation de produits de volaille, le poulet à griller étant particulièrement mis en cause. La contamination de la carcasse se fait souvent lors de l’abattage des oiseaux. Bien que plusieurs données concernant la distribution de Campylobacter à l’abattoir soient disponibles dans certains pays, aucune étude récente visant à décrire la présence et la distribution de ce pathogène, tout au long de la chaîne d’abattage, n'a été réalisée au niveau des établissements d'abattage canadiens. Notre hypothèse était que l’on pouvait identifier des étapes clés d’intervention pour contrôler la contamination par Campylobacter sur les carcasses de volaille à l’abattoir en étudiant la présence de ce pathogène sur les produits de viande et dans l’environnement de production. Il y avait deux objectifs principaux dans cette étude. Premièrement, nous voulions décrire la distribution de Campylobacter lors des différentes étapes de production dans deux établissements de transformation québécois. Deuxièmement, nous voulions déterminer si les moyens de gestion du risque mis en place au moment de l’étude étaient suffisants pour prévenir la contamination du produit de viande destiné au consommateur. Pour répondre à ces objectifs, un oiseau par lot d’élevage a été échantillonné par rinçât de carcasse pour chaque étape suivante de la transformation (n=4) : avant l'abattage, tout juste après la saignée, au transfert entre les chaînes d'abattage et d'éviscération, après l'éviscération et après l’étape du refroidissement dans deux abattoirs québécois. Cette procédure fut répétée pour un total de 379 échantillons de rinçâts de carcasses de poulets de chair qui ont été collectés à l’occasion de multiples visites à l’abattoir et ce, de février à juillet 2017. Un total de 217 échantillons environnementaux pouvant être impliqués dans la contamination croisée des oiseaux ont aussi été récupéré pendant les diverses visites. Les échantillons ont été dilués dans de l'eau peptonée et une identification de Campylobacter par PCR a été faite à l’aide d’amorces spécifiques au gène codant pour l’ARN ribosomal 16S. Les résultats obtenus pour la période étudiée indiquent que la positivité des carcasses de poulets de chair à Campylobacter est significativement plus élevée pour les échantillons effectués l’été comparé au printemps. En revanche, la présence de la bactérie dans l’environnement des abattoirs étudiés apparaît plus élevée durant l’hiver. Puisque la présence de la bactérie sur les carcasses de poulets a diminué tout au long de la chaîne de production, qu’aucune carcasse positive n’a été retrouvée après un refroidissement à l’air et que la positivité des carcasses suite au refroidissement à l’eau était aussi très basse, nos résultats suggèrent, malgré certains enjeux associés à la sensibilité de la méthode d’identification des échantillons positifs, que les mesures actuelles de gestion du risque sont efficaces pour contrôler Campylobacter dans les deux abattoirs québécois suivis. / Campylobacter is responsible of the highest number of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Most diseases in humans attributed to meat can be associated to consumption of or contact with poultry derived products; broiler chicken being involved in the majority of cases. The contamination of carcasses often occurs during the slaughter process. While many studies from various countries reported the distribution of Campylobacter among various critical steps of the slaughter process, none has been published, to our knowledge, in Canada regarding the presence and distribution of this bacterium within the abattoir. Our hypothesis was that it would be possible to identify key steps to control the contamination of carcasses by this bacterium by studying the presence and distribution of Campylobacter on carcasses and within the environment during the slaughter process. This study had two objectives. The first objective was to describe the distribution of Campylobacter within two selected slaughterhouses in Quebec in order to understand which processing step(s) play(s) a critical role in carcasses contamination. In the second objective, we aimed to verify if actual management procedures applied in these abattoirs were efficient in preventing consumer’s exposition. To meet these goals, four birds by production lot, one at each of the following steps (after bleeding, at transfer between killing and evisceration chain, after evisceration and after the cooling process) were sampled for a total of 379 birds from February 2017 to July 2017 in two slaughterhouses located in the province of Quebec. Furthermore, 217 environmental samples were collected during these visits in various sites possibly in contact with birds. Samples were suspended in peptone water and submitted to a PCR assay, using a specific 16S ribosomal probe, for detection of Campylobacter. Overall, for the year of the study, we observed a significantly higher number of positive carcasses in summer compared to spring, while the environmental samples were more often positive in winter compared with summer. Furthermore, our results indicated that the number of positive carcasses decreased over the various processing steps, being either negative (air chilling) or low (water chilling) after the cooling process. Although we experienced some issues associated with the sensitivity of the procedure we used in this study to recover Campylobacter, taken together, these results suggest that the actual management procedures of Campylobacter in studied slaughterhouses are efficient.

Die Wasserproduktivität in der Tierhaltung ist von vielen Faktoren abhängig. Die Futterproduktion hat den größten Anteil am Wasserbedarf von tierischen Produkten. Weitere Einflussfaktoren sind die Leistung, die Reproduktion und der Gesundheitsstatus der Tiere, das Management und die Haltungsbedingungen. In dieser Arbeit sollte untersucht werden, wie sich diese Faktoren auf die Wasserproduktivität von Milch und Geflügelfleisch in Nord-Ost-Deutschland auswirken. Zehn unterschiedliche Futtermittel wurden hinsichtlich ihres Wasserbedarfes untersucht. Aus diesen Futtermitteln wurden die Rationen für die Tiere erstellt. Die Milchleistung der Kühe wurde zwischen 4.000 und 12.000 kg Milch pro Kuh und Jahr in 2.000 kg Schritten variiert. Für jedes Leistungsniveau wurden zwölf verschiedene Fütterungsstrategien untersucht, welche auf der Erhöhung einzelner Bestandteile der Ration basieren. Der Wasserbedarf von Leitungswasser im Stall wurde mit 38 Wasserzählern ermittelt. Für die Wasserproduktivität des Geflügelfleisches wurden vier verschieden intensive Mastverfahren untersucht. Die Wasserproduktivität steigt mit steigender Milchleistung der Kühe. Das Maximum wird bei 10.000 kg Milch pro Kuh und Jahr und Rationen mit einem hohem Gras- bzw. Maissilageanteil erreicht. Die Kühe, die im automatischen Melksystem gemolken wurden, nahmen mehr Tränkwasser zu sich, als die Kühe im Fischgrätenmelkstand. Dies ist durch die höhere Milchleistung bedingt. Im automatischen Melksystem wurden im Mittel 28,6 Liter Reinigungswasser pro Kuh und Tag benötigt. Für die Reinigung des Fischgrätenmelkstandes wurden 33,8 Liter pro Kuh und Tag genutzt. Die untersuchten Broilermastverfahren zeigten keine Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Wasserproduktivität. Die intensivere Aufzucht und bessere Futterverwertung wurde durch eine niedrigere Wasserproduktivität des Futters kompensiert. Der Anteil des technischen Wassers macht in der Milchkuh- und Broilerhaltung nur einen kleinen Teil am Gesamtwasserbedarf aus. / Livestock production is the main user of water resources in agricultural production. Water is used in animal production for producing feed, watering the animals, and cleaning and disinfecting barns and equipment. The objective of this dissertation was to quantify the effects of management strategies, such as feeding, intensity of production and the replacement process on the water productivity of milk and poultry meat in Germany. Water productivity in milk and broiler production systems was calculated based on the methodology of Prochnow et al. (2012). Own measurements of the drinking and cleaning water demand in milk production were conducted in a dairy cow barn. The study was based on site conditions of North-East Germany with common variations in farm operations. The feed production is the main contributor to water input in dairy and poultry production. The water productivity of milk increased with an increasing milk yield. The most beneficial conditions related to water productivity in dairy farming were found to be with a milk yield of approximately 10,000 kg fat corrected milk and a grass silage and maize silage based feeding. The total technical water use in the barn makes only a minor contribution to water use. Former regression functions of the drinking water intake of the cows were reviewed and a new regression function based on the ambient temperature and the milk yield was developed. In broiler production the intensification of the fattening systems did not increase water productivity. An increase of water productivity in animal production can be achieved with various management strategies with their specific influence on the production process. The feed management should be a focus of the strategies.