Given the importance that the issue wellbeing has reached today, the aim of this study was to evaluate the condition of thermal comfort for the animals and workers during the first 21 days of life of poultry reared in sheds in the region of semiarid Minas Gerais state, where the mean annual temperature is around 27 ºC. The study was conducted in two distinct phases (winter and summer) at a poultry farm in the Nova Porteirinha city (MG). To evaluate the thermal comfort of the animals, the index of Black Globe Temperature and Humidity (BGHI) was used and to characterize the thermal environment for workers, the Index of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and was adopted. The data collected revealed that regardless of season, the values were above 74 WBGT featuring heat stress condition for broiler chicks. With regard to workers, it was found that the activity of farm management conducted during the winter does not expose people to thermal overload condition, however, in the summer, from 9 am, employees need to take frequent breaks to reestablish physiologically with hydration and rest.
poultry production; thermal environment; ergonomics
