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Heat stress - Poultry
Protect your chickens against heat stress
During summer, heat stress becomes a critical issue in poultry farming. Chickens, lacking sweat glands, struggle to cool themselves effectively. Preventing heat stress is essential to ensure the well-being, health, and productivity of your poultry.
Explore the potential challenges posed by heat stress and find effective products and methods to prevent it.
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What are the effects of heat stress?
There are various problems that can occur due to heat stress. For example, increased water intake leads to more feces being excreted. This makes the barn wetter and facilitates the spread of colibacteria. Other problems that can occur include:
- Health problems, such as dehydration, heat stroke or respiratory problems.
- Reduced performance, as the animals often suffer from reduced feed intake, reduced growth or reduced egg production.
- Increased susceptibility to disease, the stress caused by the heat can make the immune system more susceptible to diseases and pathogens.
Prevent heat stress when it gets warmer
What are the symptoms of heat stress?
Heat stress in chickens is characterised by various symptoms. The following signs can be an indication of heat stress:
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- Beak breathing
- Bleeding scalp
- Spreading of the wings
- Immobility
- Increasing water consumption
The 4 steps to prevent heat stress
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Step 1
Fresh air through cooling
Through air and mist cooling, the barn can be effectively cooled down. It's important to direct the cooling directly towards the animals. If mist cooling is not available, the MS Powermister can be used as a portable cooling solution. Additionally, mist cooling should not be used when the enthalpy value is too high, as it would increase the humidity in the barn.:format(webp))
Step 2
Change feeding times
Heat stress occurs when the relative humidity exceeds 90. This is determined by combining the temperature in degrees Celsius with the humidity level. Set the feeding times ideally in the early morning or late evening hours. This helps relieve the circulation and metabolism of the animals during the warmer hours of the day.:format(webp))
Step 3
Drinking water
Clean drinking water is generally important for the health of your animals. However, the animals' water intake increases significantly, especially during warm periods. Clean water pipes are an important success factor for healthy and productive animals.:format(webp))
Step 4
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