In a recent trial, the Aviagen Hatchery Specialist team showed that chicks that were panting had a high vent temperature (averaging 106oF), while comfortable chicks had a vent temperature that averaged 104oF. When the two groups were held in the hatchery for 12 hours, the over-heated chicks lost nearly twice as much weight.
Samples taken at the hatchery showed that chicks that had been overheated had slight gut damage, so they could not absorb nutrients as well. Grown on in a broiler trial, these chicks were 60 grams lighter at 35 days than chicks that had been held in comfortable conditions. These results are the reason we produced Aviagen’s Hatchery How To #7 (How to Check if Your Chicks are Comfortable). This explains how to tell if chicks are comfortable by measuring their vent temperature.