Construction and Operation of a Respiration Chamber of the Head-Box Type for Methane Measurement from Cattle
Octavio Alonso Castelán Ortega,
Paulina Elizabeth Pedraza Beltrán,
Gloria Stefanny Hernández Pineda,
Mohammed Benaouda,
Manuel González Ronquillo,
Luisa T Molina,
Juan Carlos Ku Vera,
Hugo Daniel Montelongo Pérez,
María Fernanda Vázquez Carrillo
Affiliations
Octavio Alonso Castelán Ortega
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
Paulina Elizabeth Pedraza Beltrán
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
Gloria Stefanny Hernández Pineda
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
Mohammed Benaouda
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
Manuel González Ronquillo
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
Luisa T Molina
Molina Center for Strategic Studies in Energy and the Environment, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
Juan Carlos Ku Vera
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Carretera Mérida-Xmatkuil km 15.5, 97100 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Hugo Daniel Montelongo Pérez
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
María Fernanda Vázquez Carrillo
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto Literario 100, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Colonia Centro, 50000 Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
This paper aims to describe the construction and operation of a respiration chamber of the head-box type for methane (CH4) measurements in bovines. The system consists of (1) a head box with a stainless steel frame and acrylic walls, floor, and ceiling; (2) a stainless steel feeder; (3) an automatic drinking water bowl; (4) a hood made from reinforced canvas; (5) an infrared (IR) CH4 gas analyzer, a mass flow generator, a data-acquisition system; and (6) a steel metabolic box. Six assays were conducted to determine the pure CH4 recovery rate of the whole system in order to validate it and comply with standards of chamber operation. The gravimetrical method was used for the recovery test and the recovery rate obtained was 1.04 ± 0.05. Once the system was calibrated, measurements of CH4 were conducted using eight animals consisting of four Holstein cows with a live weight of 593.8 ± 51 kg and an average milk yield of 23.3 ± 1.8 kg d−1 and four heifers with a live weight of 339 ± 28 kg. The CH4 production values were 687 ± 123 and 248 ± 40 L CH4 d−1 for cows and heifers, respectively. The CH4 yield was 19.7 ± 3.4 g and 17.1 ± 3.4 g CH4 kg−1 of dry matter consumed for cows and heifers, respectively. These results are consistent with those reported in the literature.
