Humidity control of chicken farm environment is very important
2022-01-17
The chicken coop space in which the chicken is located is called the chicken breeding environment, that is, the microclimate environment in the chicken coop. The rearing environment has a significant impact on the health and performance of the flock. Especially for large groups of chickens that are intensively raised, it has a great impact. Therefore, in order to give full play to the production potential of chickens, it is necessary to understand and study the effects of various environmental factors on chickens, and to master the suitable breeding environment and adjustment methods for chickens.
Environmental factors affecting chickens can be divided into three categories:
1. Physical factors: such as temperature, relative humidity, airflow speed, light and dust (including dust, dust, smoke), air pressure, noise, etc. 2. Chemical factors: such as oxygen in the air and various harmful gases and odors, volatilization 3. Biological factors: various microorganisms, mainly bacteria and molds.
Among these factors, three of the same factors, such as temperature, relative humidity, and airflow speed, can work together, and different types of factors, such as dust and bacteria, often work together.
The above factors have a greater impact on the chicken flock is temperature:
Temperature, for open chicken houses, basically fluctuates with the change of seasons and day and night, and is an environmental factor closely related to the production performance of chickens and the production cost of chicken farms.
(1) Ambient temperature and thermoregulation of chickens
Chicken is a warm-blooded animal. Its heat generation and heat dissipation must be balanced. If there is more heat production and more heat dissipation, the body temperature of the chicken will rise; while less heat production and more heat dissipation, the body temperature will drop. In both cases, chickens cannot maintain a normal body temperature, but this happens only when the temperature is too high or too low. As long as the ambient temperature does not exceed a certain range, chickens can produce and dissipate heat through various methods. to regulate to maintain the balance of body temperature.
The body heat dissipation of chickens, in addition to expelling heat energy from the body through egg laying and excretion of feces and urine, also often dissipates heat through radiation, convection, conduction and evaporation. Radiation heat dissipation, when the ambient temperature is lower than the skin temperature of the chicken. The heat of the chicken body surface is continuously dissipated to the surrounding environment; convection heat dissipation: the body temperature of chickens is usually higher than the ambient temperature. The air around the body surface can be heated to increase the temperature. When the cold air in the chicken house continuously flows through the chicken body, the body heat of the chicken is continuously dissipated to the surrounding by convection; conduction heat dissipation: the body temperature of the chicken is usually higher than that of the chicken. The temperature of various objects and the temperature of the ground, when the chicken body is close to the ground or a certain object, can transmit the body potential to the ground or a certain object, and evaporate heat; chickens do not have sweat glands. Can not rely on the evaporation of sweat to dissipate heat. Instead, through respiration, the surface water such as the respiratory tract, lungs and air sacs of the chicken is discharged and evaporated.
When the ambient temperature is low, chickens raise their feathers, shrink their necks, hide their heads under their wings or lie down, and cover their feet with their lower abdomens. These behaviors can improve the insulation performance of the feathers and reduce the heat dissipation area. At the same time, skin blood vessels constrict, reducing body heat dissipation. On the other hand, increasing feed intake, tremors, and release of serotonin increase heat production. When the ambient temperature is high. Chickens spread their wings, keep their lower abdomen close to the ground, open their mouths to pant, and increase their water intake. In order to strengthen heat dissipation, at the same time, appetite decreases, activity decreases, feed intake decreases, metabolic rate decreases, and thus heat production is reduced. On the other hand, skin vasodilation, or the release of norepinephrine, increases heat dissipation.
The behavioral and physiological response of chicken body thermoregulation is both a protective reflex and a symptom of discomfort. In this case, it is even more necessary to adjust the temperature in the house and strengthen the feeding management.
(2) The effect of temperature on chicken production performance
Temperature has an effect on the activity, diet, physiological status and various economic traits of chickens. Different types, breeds, strains and regions of chickens have different adaptability to cold and heat, so the impact of ambient temperature on different flocks is different. Effects on egg-laying traits: For hens of various breeds, the egg-laying rate is generally higher at 13-15°C. Good egg production can be maintained between 10 and 24°C. When the temperature is lower than 4.5 ℃ or higher than 29.5 ℃, the egg production will decrease significantly. Different temperature environment, egg formation time is not the same. Under higher temperature environmental conditions, the egg formation time is relatively prolonged.
Lower temperatures had little effect on egg weight and shell thickness. Conversely, higher temperature had an effect on both traits. When the ambient temperature is often higher than 21 °C, the eggshell becomes thinner; when it is higher than 24 °C, the egg weight begins to decrease; the higher the temperature, the more obvious the egg weight decrease.
The feed efficiency of egg laying is the highest when the ambient temperature is 21-34℃. Often lower than 7 ℃ or higher than 27 ℃, the feed efficiency will generally decline, but some experiments have proved that even when the ambient temperature reaches 28-30 ℃, the feeding efficiency will not decrease.
(3) Appropriate ambient temperature for laying hens
The most suitable ambient temperature for laying hens should be based on economic benefits as the main criterion. That is to use the least feed, get as many eggs as possible. While other economic traits are not damaged or have little effect. It is generally believed that the most suitable ambient temperature for laying hens is 13-23 °C.
The temperature in the house cannot be kept absolutely constant. Even in an environment-controlled house, the temperature in the house will fluctuate with the change of seasons. If there is a closed layer house, the minimum temperature in winter may be as low as 7°C, and the maximum temperature in summer may be as high as 33°C. Therefore, how to control the stable temperature and humidity in daily life, try to keep the indoor temperature and humidity within the appropriate range. Particularly important.
