Key management points for laying hens in summer
In summer, many regions not only experience continuous high temperatures but also abundant rainfall. The continuous high temperatures and humidity have already exceeded the suitable temperature range for laying hens. Therefore, the key to summer breeding management is to prevent heatstroke and reduce heat stress. Specifically, we will focus on the following aspects:
1、 Reduce heat stress
(1) Reduce feeding density
Reduce the density of chicken flocks. Before the arrival of high temperatures in summer, eliminate diseased and weak chickens, low yielding chickens, and chickens in high-yield periods that strictly do not meet the weight standards. The density of chicken population should be determined based on environmental temperature, humidity, and the type of chicken coop. In the hot summer, try to reduce the breeding density as much as possible to effectively lower the temperature of the small environment inside the house.
(2) Improve cooling facilities
It is necessary to ensure the normal and safe use of electricity, the normal use of water curtains, and the normal ventilation of fans in the chicken farm in summer. When the temperature exceeds 30 ℃, longitudinal ventilation is adopted. Wet curtains or spray cooling methods are used to install wet curtains at the ventilation openings of the chicken house. The air cooled by the wet curtains flows through the chicken house longitudinally to discharge the metabolic waste heat, so as to cool down in time in the high temperature season, alleviate the high temperature and humidity, and reduce the concentration of harmful gases in the house, Avoid adverse factors that can cause irritation to the respiratory mucosa.
(3) Reasonable drinking water
Due to the lack of sweat glands in chickens, heat must be taken away through excretion, respiration, and other means. In hot environments, to enable laying hens to exert their ability to evaporate heat and increase the amount of heat emitted from each breath, it is necessary to increase the amount of water consumed and lower the temperature of the water. A low-cost and highly feasible method is to use deep well water. If the local water quality cannot meet drinking standards, ice cubes can be added to the water to reduce the temperature of drinking water. At the same time, more attention should be paid to water quality, and VC or heatstroke prevention and cooling drugs should be added to drinking water to increase the body's ability to resist heat stress.
2、 Scientific formula and reasonable feeding
(1) Adjusting feed formula
In the hot season, the feed intake of laying hens is low. The breeding farm can adjust the feed formula according to the feed intake, appropriately increase energy and protein levels, fully balance amino acids under low feed intake, and increase calcium content levels. In addition, high-quality premixes should be selected.
(2) Adjust feeding time appropriately
Avoid feeding during high temperature periods and choose feeding in the morning and evening when the temperature is relatively low, before turning off the lights, to ensure the feeding amount as much as possible. High temperatures in summer make feed more prone to spoilage and sourness, reducing palatability. At the same time, the feed intake of chicken flocks also decreases, often leading to leftover feed. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the frequency of feeding and achieve "less frequent feeding".
3. Disinfection and hygiene
Due to the high temperature and humidity inside the building, if the environmental hygiene is not good, it is easy to cause a large number of pathogenic microorganisms to breed. It is necessary to establish a regular disinfection system, and select less irritating disinfection drugs with chicken spray disinfection, which can not only effectively kill pathogenic microorganisms, purify the environment, but also effectively reduce the room temperature. Pay attention to cleaning the sink and feed trough every day, and promptly clean the rancid and moldy feed to reduce the damage of mycotoxins to the intestinal mucosa and avoid immune suppression. Timely cleaning of manure, as the high moisture content of chicken manure in summer can increase the humidity inside the house and affect heat dissipation.
4. Boosting immunity
The physical fitness of chicken flocks in summer is relatively weak. Only by doing a good job in preventing heatstroke and cooling down, and paying attention to immune prevention of infectious diseases such as Newcastle disease and avian influenza, can the chicken flocks ensure high antibody levels and strong disease resistance. Only by fundamentally controlling the occurrence of viral diseases can the probability of primary or secondary infections of diseases such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Mycoplasma be reduced. Regularly add plant extracts (Fulexing) to feed to improve immunity to reduce the incidence rate of oviduct inflammation.
5. Emphasize intestinal health
Due to the climate characteristics of summer, the amount of food intake decreases, the amount of water consumed by the chicken flock increases, the feces are as thin as water, and the frequency of excretion increases. If not taken seriously enough, over time, it can easily lead to dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, causing intestinal mucosal edema, even necrosis and shedding. In summer, it is recommended to regularly use probiotics in feed to regulate microbial balance. Only with good intestinal function can feed conversion rate be improved and feed costs be saved; Only by reducing the peculiar smell in the chicken house and the stimulation of harmful gases on the respiratory mucosa, thus reducing the incidence rate of the respiratory tract, can it be conducive to the full absorption and utilization of nutrients, achieve balanced nutrition of the body, so as to achieve less morbidity, reduce the death rate and increase economic benefits.
