In livestock farming, maintaining dry bedding is considered to be important for maximising animal performance and welfare. A better understanding of the mechanisms that regulate drying has the potential to improve bedding management and reduce production costs. A custom laboratory-scale method was developed to explore the effects of environmental conditions and bedding characteristics on drying rate (DR). Samples (n = 256) of different types of bedding materials were exposed to controlled environmental conditions by using a climate chamber equipped with a custom cabinet capable of simulating different levels of air velocity and bedding temperature. The effects of the type of material, bedding moisture content, bedding temperature, air temperature, air relative humidity (RH) and air velocity were evaluated in a full factorial experimental design. Under the experimental conditions tested, DR ranged from 0.28 to 6.04 kg m⁻² d⁻¹, with an average of 2.03 kg m⁻² d⁻¹. All variables significantly affected DR, but large variation in the magnitude of effects was found. Bedding moisture content, air velocity and air RH had considerably larger effects than the other variables, together accounting for more than 70% of the variance in DR. The DR from bedding samples increased with bedding moisture content and air velocity but decreased with increasing air RH. The results of the current study may have important implications in the design and management of bedded pack barns. To increase the DR and keep bedding dry, producers should focus primarily on providing adequate barn ventilation (both in terms of air velocity and air exchange), whereas maintaining a high pack temperature may yield poorer-than-expected results.

在畜牧业中，保持干燥的床上用品被认为对于最大限度地提高动物的性能和福利很重要。更好地了解调节干燥的机制，有可能改善床上用品的管理并降低生产成本。开发了一种定制的实验室规模方法，以探索环境条件和床上用品特性对干燥速率（DR）的影响。使用装有定制机柜的气候室，将不同类型的床上用品样品（n = 256）暴露在受控的环境条件下，该机柜能够模拟不同水平的气流速度和床上用品温度。在全因子实验设计中评估了材料类型，被褥含水量，被褥温度，空气温度，空气相对湿度（RH）和空气速度的影响。^-2  d ^-1，平均为2.03 kg m ^-2  d ^-1。所有变量均显着影响DR，但发现影响幅度存在较大差异。床上用品的水分含量，空气速度和空气RH的影响要比其他变量大得多，合起来占DR差异的70％以上。垫层样品的DR随垫层含水量和空气流速的增加而增加，但随空气RH的增加而降低。目前的研究结果可能对卧式包装谷仓的设计和管理产生重要影响。为了增加DR并保持床上用品干燥，生产者应主要集中在提供足够的谷仓通风（在空气速度和空气交换方面），而保持较高的包装温度可能会产生差于预期的结果。