Environmental Factors Affecting Laying Hens

The production performance of laying hens is directly related to the breeding benefits. Many farmers say that automated chicken breeding equipment has also been installed, and epidemic prevention has also been done. Why the egg production peak cannot go up, why chickens get sick, and the death rate remains high, among which environmental factors play a big role.

1. Temperature
1. The impact on feed intake and feed efficiency: when the temperature rises, reduce energy feed intake and increase protein material appropriately. When the temperature is low, the chicken needs more energy and the feed intake also increases, so it is necessary to adjust the feed intake of the chicken under different temperature conditions.
2. Feed efficiency also increases with the increase of ambient temperature and the decrease of energy intake.
3. Temperature will affect the yield, egg weight and shell quality.
Therefore, considering the high cost of heating up in winter, the suitable temperature of laying hens should be based on the best economic benefits. For example, the suitable temperature in summer is 18-25°C; it is best to control it at 13-16°C in winter.

2. Humidity
Humidity is the ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air to the amount of saturated water vapor at that temperature. When the temperature is suitable, the humidity in the house should be 40%-80%. If the humidity is too high, the feathers of the chicken will be dirty, especially at high temperatures, which will hinder the evaporation and heat dissipation of the chicken, accumulate heat in the body, and cause heat stroke.
At low temperature, the water vapor capacity and thermal conductivity in the air increase, and the chicken loses too much heat, and it is easy to suffer from cold or even frostbite. If the humidity is too low, if it is lower than 17%, the feathers of the chicks will be poorly formed, the feathers of the adult chickens will be cracked, and the skin will be dry.

3. Density
The density here refers to the air quality, which is greatly affected by the breeding density and the density of ammonia, oxygen, and nitrogen dioxide in the air. In order to pursue greater economic benefits, traditional flat farming has gradually transformed into stacked farming. For example, in farms where manure is manually cleaned or scraped in time, the harmful gas is mainly ammonia gas, and heat preservation is the main method in winter; while chicken houses with high breeding density generally use crawler-type manure cleaning, which has a better effect of cleaning manure. There is less air influence, and the proportion of carbon dioxide is more, so it is necessary to balance the contradiction between heat preservation and ventilation.

4. Ventilation
Modern chickens have a high stocking density, rapid growth and vigorous metabolism, and a large amount of carbon dioxide and water are emitted during respiration, and a large amount of harmful gases are produced by the fermentation and corruption of manure and litter. In the wet season, when the chickens have severe diarrhea or the water tank leaks seriously, the air in the chicken house will be dirty, the ammonia gas will be too thick, and the oxygen will be insufficient, which is also a factor that triggers the disease. Therefore, no matter what kind of chicken house (modern closed or simple chicken house), ventilation and ventilation should be done according to actual conditions. Especially in winter, people often only pay attention to heat preservation and ignore ventilation. Chicken health is very unfavorable. Generally, when people feel bored or their eyes and nose feel irritated after entering the chicken coop, ventilation should be taken in time.

5. Lighting
The length and intensity of light irradiation can directly affect the maturity and production performance of chickens.
1. The impact on the sexual maturity of chickens: the length of the light hours can change the age of the hens. For example, the chickens can be precocious when exposed to light for a long time, otherwise it will delay the age of the hens. Generally, the light is suitable for 11-12 hours.
2. The impact on the production performance of laying hens: sufficient light time can stimulate the visual cells of laying hens, thereby causing a series of sex hormone secretion activities; promoting the development of follicles and ovulation. Generally, the lighting time for laying hens is required to be 10-17 hours, too long or too short will affect egg production.

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