How should laying hens survive in hot weather in summer?

The weather is hot in summer, which is at the peak of laying hens. Because the air in the shed is humid and dirty, all kinds of pathogenic microorganisms are easy to grow and multiply, which induces respiratory and intestinal infectious diseases, thus increasing the incidence of chickens, reducing food intake, increasing water consumption, thinning feces, reducing egg weight, thinning eggshells, increasing broken eggs and reducing egg production, which brings losses to laying hens. In order to maintain the high yield of laying hens, we must pay attention to the following points:

First, heatstroke prevention and cooling

The optimum environmental temperature for laying hens is 13℃ ~ 20℃. When the temperature is higher than 29℃, the egg production will decrease 10% ~ 20%. At 37.8℃, chickens are in danger of heatstroke. Therefore, heatstroke prevention and cooling is the key to maintain high yield. Specific measures are as follows

(1) cooling: set a sunshade net on the sunny side of the henhouse to avoid direct sunlight; In the case of poor natural ventilation, cold water can be sprayed directly into the henhouse to cool down, and grass and trees can be planted around the henhouse to reduce the reflected heat.

(2) Clean up the manure in time: chicken manure is easy to ferment to generate heat and emit harmful gases. Clean the henhouse once every morning and evening to keep it clean and dry. (3) Ventilation: Open all windows, and if possible, install a fan in the henhouse to improve air convection and ensure the coolness in the henhouse.

(4) Reduce the density: the high feeding density is not conducive to the heat dissipation of chickens. It is generally appropriate to raise 7 chickens per square meter.

Second, adjust your diet

Due to the high temperature, the feed intake of laying hens is reduced, so it is necessary to adjust the diet reasonably to better meet the nutritional needs of laying hens at all stages. Feed more high-protein and low-energy diets in the morning and evening, and feed more green and juicy feed at noon, with diversified feed varieties. In addition, it is necessary to increase the mineral components in the feed, especially calcium. Feed less and add more; The feeding trough should be kept clean, so as not to affect the loss of appetite of chickens or cause gastrointestinal diseases.

Third, ensure drinking water.

Usually, the average water consumption of chickens is 150 ~ 250 ml, and the water temperature is about 10℃. Ensure that the drinking water is kept clean all day, and at the same time, salt can be added to the drinking water to maintain the body's demand for inorganic salts. If laying hens are deprived of food for 24 hours, the egg production will drop by 30%, and it will take 25 to 30 days to recover. When water is cut off for more than 30 hours, laying hens will shed their skins. If you find an increase in feces, you should pay attention to limiting drinking water.

Fourth, strengthen epidemic prevention.

Summer is suitable for the reproduction of various pathogenic microorganisms and parasites, and high temperature stress leads to the weakening of the body's resistance to diseases, which is the season of common diseases in chickens. Therefore, it is necessary to do a good job in epidemic prevention and isolation, inject vaccines such as Newcastle disease, cholera and chicken plague on time, disinfect chicken houses regularly, and cut off the transmission route of pathogens. Disinfect with antitoxin and Lysol every 7 ~ 10 days. Disinfect once a day during the onset. Appropriate antibiotics, such as oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, should be added to the feed regularly, which can enhance the body's resistance to diseases.

Technical measures to maintain high yield of laying hens in summer

The ideal environmental temperature of laying hens is 15 ~ 25℃, and the production performance is the best in this temperature range. When the ambient temperature exceeds 30℃, chickens must radiate body heat by increasing the number of breaths, and then their food intake decreases, water consumption increases, feces become thinner, eggs become thinner and broken eggs increase, which brings losses to the production of laying hens. In order to keep high yield of laying hens in high temperature period in summer, farmers can strengthen feeding management and take effective comprehensive technical measures according to local actual conditions.

1 Reduce the temperature of henhouse and improve the feeding environment.

The optimum temperature of laying hens is 65438 03 ~ 20℃. When the temperature is above 28℃, the feed intake of chickens begins to decrease, and the egg production gradually decreases; when the temperature reaches 38℃, the egg production obviously decreases, or even stops production, and some of them are prone to death due to heat exhaustion. Therefore, various effective measures should be taken to keep the temperature of chicken coop below 28℃.

1. 1 ventilation and cooling

A fan or ceiling fan can be installed in a closed henhouse to enhance ventilation and promote heat dissipation. Longitudinal ventilation can achieve better ventilation effect than transverse ventilation and is an effective means to relieve thermal stress. In summer, the wind speed in the chicken coop should be1.0 ~1.2m/s. Wet curtain is the most economical and effective cooling measure in mass production at present, and longitudinal ventilation combined with wet curtain has a better cooling effect to prevent thermal stress. Open chicken coops can be equipped with fans, and all doors and windows can be opened to promote air circulation. The best measure to alleviate the heat stress of laying hens in open henhouse is to spray water to reduce the body temperature of chickens.

1.2 Greening and cooling

Planting trees and vines on the sunny side of the henhouse and planting grass and flowers on the ground can not only green the henhouse, but also reduce thermal radiation, absorb carbon dioxide, reduce dust density and purify the air inside and outside the henhouse.

1.3 spray water to cool down

In the case of high temperature and poor natural ventilation, such as every day. During the hottest period from 1 1: 00 in the morning to 16: 00 in the afternoon, when the house temperature exceeds 33℃, spray water on the top of the henhouse and the chicken body with a sprayer or nozzle. When spraying the chicken body to cool down, it is best to spray cold water 30 ~ 40 cm above the chicken head, and the smaller the water drops, the better. When spraying water, ensure the air circulation in the henhouse. However, in the case of high indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, the cooling effect of water spraying is poor, so the water spraying amount should be strictly controlled at this time.

1.4 sun protection

Sunshade nets shall be set on the sunny side of the henhouse, doors and windows with direct sunlight, and the air inlet of the henhouse to avoid direct sunlight. The air cools after passing through the sunshade net and enters the henhouse, which can reduce the temperature in the henhouse by 2 ~ 3℃.

1.5 water curtain cooling

Water curtains are made at the doors and windows of the henhouse by water pumps, and air enters the henhouse through the water curtains, so that the temperature inside the henhouse is 5 ~ 6℃ lower than that outside the henhouse.

2. Strengthen feeding management and do a good job in disease prevention and control.

2. 1 Reduce the feeding density.

When the density is too high in summer, chickens are prone to heat exhaustion. It is necessary to combine the number of chickens and the transfer population to eliminate sick, disabled and weak chickens and reduce the feeding density. Generally, the area required for raising chickens in each cage is 0.4 square meters, and there are 3 chickens in each cage. Free-range breeding on the flat land, 3 ~ 5 birds per square meter, suitable for large groups, 200 birds per group.

2.2 Supply fresh and clean cold water all day.

In hot weather, the water consumption of laying hens is about 3 ~ 4 times of the feed intake. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the sink is not short of water and that chickens can drink clean and pollution-free cold water (the water temperature is about 10℃) all day. Change water frequently, especially in dog days, it is best to change water every 2 hours 1 time.

2.3 often remove chicken manure

In summer, the manure of laying hens is thin and humid, which is easy to ferment chicken manure to produce harmful gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide or other odors, which is easy to induce respiratory diseases. Therefore, the feces and padding in the house should be cleaned in time (at least every other day 1 time) to prevent pollution and keep the house clean, dry and hygienic.

2.4 Eliminate all kinds of pressure factors

The hot weather reduces the disease resistance of laying hens, so a series of artificial stress factors such as group transfer, transportation and vaccination should be avoided as far as possible. Be sure to adapt, try to choose early, late or cool weather. At the same time, some anti-stress drugs can be added to feed and drinking water.

2.5 Prevention and treatment of common diseases in summer

In summer, with high temperature and high humidity, various diseases are easy to spread. Therefore, in addition to normal vaccination, we should always observe the abnormal phenomena such as mental state, feces and appetite of chickens in order to find problems in time and achieve early prevention and early treatment. Prevention of chicken coccidiosis should be emphasized. At this time, although the infection of laying hens will not cause a large number of deaths, it will seriously affect the production performance and should be paid attention to. In addition, attention should also be paid to the drug prevention and treatment of colibacillosis and white crown disease. Although viral diseases will not be prevalent, we should pay attention to prevent local outbreaks and focus on immunization against Newcastle disease, chickenpox and avian influenza.

3. Strict disinfection measures to ensure the health of chickens.