The links that are easy to overlook in the management of broiler chicken breeding equipment

1. Poor temperature control in broiler breeding equipment
Poor temperature control in broiler equipment has two situations: one is that the temperature is too low, and the other is that the temperature is too high.
Generally speaking, low temperature is relatively rare, and most cases are high temperature. Many people think that chickens are easier to raise when the temperature is higher, so before each batch of chickens arrives, they raise the brooding room temperature to 35°C~36°C, or even higher. In fact, such a high temperature is not needed. After long-distance transportation, some chicks have already shown slight dehydration symptoms. After entering the brooding room, they still need time to adapt. If they encounter high temperature as soon as they enter the brooding room, this is a strong stress for the flock and can easily cause some chicks to become more severely dehydrated. Therefore, it is recommended that before chicks enter the brooding room, the brooding room temperature should be controlled at about 30°C. After all the chickens have entered the chicken house, gradually raise the temperature until the flock is completely spread out and adapted to the temperature in the brooding room. Then keep the temperature constant at this level.
Of course, a low temperature in the brooding room is also not acceptable, as it can cause severe omphalitis, white diarrhea, and poor or non-absorption of yolk in chicks. In short, the brooding stage is very important, and poor management will affect the lifelong growth of the chickens.

2. Unreasonable ventilation in broiler equipment
Common manifestations of unreasonable ventilation in broiler equipment include not daring to ventilate and random ventilation. The more common one is that farms do not dare to ventilate, especially in the early stage of the feeding cycle. Many people think that chickens are young and afraid of catching cold, so they do not dare to ventilate. Or they think that the environment inside the chick house is still acceptable and ventilation is unnecessary. But this will leave hidden dangers for later ventilation work. If ventilation is not carried out in the early stage, when the flock reaches more than 20 days old and ventilation is needed because the air quality in the house is poor or the indoor temperature needs to be reduced, if the ventilation volume is too large, the flock will show discomfort, and in severe cases, colds may occur. If the ventilation volume is too small, the effect of improving air quality cannot be achieved, and the flock will still have respiratory problems.
The author suggests here (especially for closed chicken houses) that chicks should be ventilated slowly as soon as they enter the brooding room. The purpose of ventilation is to keep the air in the chicken house fresh and the oxygen sufficient. While maintaining a suitable temperature for the flock, let the flock adapt to ventilation as early as possible. In this way, when it is necessary to increase ventilation after more than 20 days of age, the flock can adapt, and colds rarely occur.
There is also random ventilation, which completely ignores the state of the flock and simply opens windows and fans based on one's own imagination and feelings. Such management methods are not advisable.
3. Poor humidity control in broiler equipment
The humidity problem is even harder to control than ventilation. Because current breeding equipment is relatively advanced, most use hot air furnaces for air supply. The temperature required during the brooding period is also high, so the hot air furnace works continuously, causing the house to be dry and the humidity insufficient. This will affect the respiratory system of the flock, especially the lungs, which are afraid of heat and dryness. High temperature and dryness can damage the lungs, leading to an increase in pneumonia and air sacculitis in the later stage. There are also cases of excessive humidity, especially in winter when the chicken house is closed and moisture cannot be discharged. The walls and ceiling are covered with fine water droplets, which can cause enteritis, colibacillosis, arthritis, staphylococcosis, and many other diseases in the flock.