Many Zambian customers raise chickens in the summer. Some do not know how to prevent heat stress in chickens. So is there any small way to prevent it?
Many laying hens are raised in chicken cages with laying hen breeding equipment. The optimal temperature for laying hens is 13-23°C. When the temperature of the chicken house reaches 30°C, the chicken can still metabolize to maintain the normal temperature. If the ambient temperature is higher than 30°C, the chicken’s feed intake will decrease, and the egg production will decrease and decrease. The temperature of the chicken house reaches 38°C, the quality of eggshells deteriorates, and broken eggs increase. Once it exceeds 40°C, the temperature of the chicken will rise sharply, increasing the risk of sudden death of the chicken.
The high temperature in summer will make chickens drink more water. The house should be equipped with fans and wet pads at the same time. The cooling effect of the wet mat is related to the initial temperature and humidity of the chicken house. When the humidity is higher than 80%, a wet pad should be used.
About fighting heat stress. There are the following small methods. The first is to make the feed pan rotate a few more times. Clean the feeder every day so that the chickens can eat the fine particles. It contains vitamins and minerals, mainly to resist heat stress.
Reasonably control the water temperature: drinking cold water will not reduce the egg production rate. According to related studies, all chickens are at room temperature of 33°C, half of the chickens drink 2°C cold water, and the other half of the chickens drink 33°C warm water.
Drinking more than 12 grams of cold water every day chicken feed, half of which increases by 12%, the average egg weight is slightly smaller. But mainly due to the increase in egg production frequency, the total egg production has risen sharply.
Adjust the feeding time: in the heat stress, one meal in the morning and evening, and once at midnight. Don’t feed at noon, it’s best to feed from 5:00 to 6:00 in the morning.
Feed 40% consumption rate, feed 60% consumption in the afternoon. The feeding ability in the afternoon is mainly to help the intestines more directly absorb calcium for laying eggs, and also to accumulate energy for the chickens to lay eggs in the morning. The chickens need more energy to lay eggs 40 minutes in advance.
It is also useful to add half an hour or one hour of light from 0: 00 to 1 o’clock, which helps the chickens eat 5 to 10 grams of feed. However, it is necessary to ensure that there is 3 hours of darkness before and after this lamp to ensure that the normal circulation of the chicken is not disturbed.
The above is the small method that the farming equipment manufacturer tells you. Hope to help farmers.