[Maintenance of African ostriches (Struthio carnelus) under Hessian climatic conditions--analysis of metereological data for the application of BML's expert recommendations of 1996].
A report is given on an analysis of meteorological data on five locations in the region of Hessia in order to apply the BML's expert recommendation concerning ostrich farming. According to this recommendation black ice, very strong frost and continuous rain should not make it necessary to keep the animals in pens longer than 3 days or more often than 10 days per month. Otherwise a dry paddock must be provided. It was investigated whether and how often the above mentioned weather conditions exceeded the critical duration or frequency in the last decades at the different locations. Previously the weather related terms which were used in the BML-recommendation were defined more precisely in order to provide an objective basis for the analysis. Frequent periods of frost lasting longer than 3 days with temperatures below -5 degrees C were found to be a critical factor. They occurred in 79 to 90% of the winter seasons under investigation, although the climate was thought to be rather mild in comparison to other regions. Frost can not be remedied by a dry paddock. Therefore the locations in question are not suitable for ostrich farming. The same conclusion holds at least for all locations with a colder climate. Black ice occurred only scarcely. At none of the investigated locations periods of continuous rain were longer than 3 days or occurred more often than 10 days per month. This result might not only be due to the given climatic conditions but also due to methodological reasons. It seems that the meteorological definition of continuous rain is too restricted to take the relevant precipitation for ostriches into account. It is suggested to find a new definition and consider factors like humidity and wind speed as well.
Schmitz
J
J
Büro der Hessischen Tierschutzbeauftragten, Hessisches Sozialministerium, Wiesbaden. J.Schmitz@hsm.hessen.de
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000592:standards*; D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D005858:Germany; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D013019:South Africa; D020310:Struthioniformes; D014887:Weather