Birds Face Greater Heat Stress
We have controls all over the chicken house to monitor the temperature. However, that doesn’t take into consideration the temperature of the birds.
The most important factor is the birds’ core body temperature, especially during feeding time when birds are in such close proximity and working themselves up to a frenzy.
For pullets and hens, managing temperature at feed time, is crucial for proper feed intake, optimal performance and peak production. Be aware that birds are eating in areas of the house that typically aren’t monitored by the controller temperature sensors and are congregated tightly together during feeding, producing lots of BTU’s. Overheating at this time can cause excessive mortality, increased floor/slat eggs and poor performance. Ventilation/air flow should be increased during this time to manage bird temperature.
In broilers, we should pay special attention to bird heat once they become fully feathered out. Feathers act like an insulation and make it more difficult for birds to remove excess heat into the environment. One misconception is that just because you grow small birds, overheating isn’t a problem. On the contrary, because you can place more small birds in any house, they actually produce more heat than larger birds that are less densely placed..
Conclusion
Over and over again, we see examples of ways that pullets, hens and broilers have dramatically evolved in the past 30 years. And with that we must constantly adapt and fine-tune our management practices – as well as the housing facilities – to meet the needs of these new, larger and more efficient birds.
By providing birds with the optimal environment, we can better realize their genetic potential while maximizing performance and production.