How to improve chick disease resistance in winter?
2021-01-22
The climate is cold in winter, and the chick fry is relatively young, so the disease resistance is naturally weaker, and in this case, it is easy to cause disease. So, how can raising chickens in winter improve disease resistance of chickens? It is recommended to start from the following aspects:
1. Chicken house management
The chicken coop should be closed to avoid air leaks and thieves, but also pay attention to keep the exhaust holes. It is convenient to discharge harmful gases in the chicken house, and then prepare various warming equipment in the chicken house. Use straw curtains and other materials to cover doors and windows to improve the thermal insulation performance of the chicken house. However, because the chicken house in winter is relatively tight, it is prone to produce various harmful gases, which is also very detrimental to the growth of chicks. Various diseases such as bronchitis and laryngitis are prone to occur, so the ventilation and heat preservation of the chicken house in winter are very important.
2. Light control
Illumination is very critical to the development of chicks. Appropriate illumination can ensure normal activities of chicks and enhance disease resistance. It can also increase the intake of chicks and achieve the purpose of heat preservation. If there is insufficient light, it will delay the time of sexual maturity of the chicks, which is also very important for their growth. Therefore, we must control the light time according to the light requirements of the chick body, and it should not be too short. But it should not be too strong, otherwise it will affect the rest of the chicks and cause the chicks to be too tired, thereby reducing the growth rate and disease resistance of the chicks.
3. Feeding density
Stocking density is closely related to disease resistance of chicks. The stocking density should not be too high. If the density is too high, it will cause the air in the chicken house to be dirty, the ammonia content is too high, the humidity is too high, and the environment is dirty. There will also be fights and food grabs between the chicks, which reduces the survival rate of the chicks and increases the incidence of diseases. However, the density should not be too small. Although it is beneficial to the growth of chicks, various chicken-raising equipment cannot be fully utilized, resulting in increased breeding costs. Therefore, in the first week of the chicks, we should control it at 30 per level, and then reduce it by five per week until 10 per level.
4. Water management
The water content in the chicken body is very large, reaching about 65%, and it is present in almost every cell in the chicken body. If the chick dehydration exceeds 10% severely, it will cause dysfunction, and if it exceeds 20%, it will lead to death. Therefore, we must focus on water management to ensure that there is sufficient water in the chicken house, and the height of the waterer is kept at the back of the chicken. Then pay attention to the water quality and change the water regularly. To prevent the litter from getting wet, place bricks under the drinker to keep the chicken house dry. The chicks should start to drink water about two hours after they are placed in the house.
