8 tips on How To Raise Chickens In Spring
In early spring, the climate is cold and changeable. The temperature fluctuates up and down and cold air invades the chickens. In addition, low egg production and slow growth have become a common phenomenon in chicken farming. So how to raise chickens in spring? What should you pay attention to raise chickens in spring? 7 tips on raising chickens in spring, for reference only. about how to raise chicken in winter, and how to raise chickens in fall, you can check our another post.
1. increase energy
increasing energy is one of the most important tips of how to raise chickens in spring, chickens maintain their body temperature by obtaining heat energy from the feed they eat into their bodies. It has been determined that the intake of chickens in winter and spring is about 10% to 15% higher than in other seasons. Therefore, it is important to ensure sufficient energy in the feed of chickens in winter and spring. In addition to ensuring a certain percentage of protein, high-energy feeds containing more starch and sugar should be added appropriately to meet the physiological and production needs of chickens.
2. suppliment sun light
In early spring, the nights are long and the days are short. Laying hens will have lower egg production rate due to insufficient light, which can be compensated by artificial supplemental light. In general, the total light time should not be less than 14 hours and not more than 17 hours per day. For example, if the daytime natural light is 12 hours, artificial light supplementation is needed for 2 to 5 hours per day.
Supplemental light is provided once in the morning before dawn or at night after dark. Segmental supplemental light means that the insufficient light time is divided into two supplemental lights in the morning and evening. In general, the intensity of supplementary artificial light should be 2 to 4 watts of light per square meter of chicken coop area.
3. Disinfect regularly
The low temperature in spring reduces the frequency of bacterial activity, but when conditions are right, they can multiply and endanger the health of the chickens. The resistance of chickens is generally weakened by the cold weather in spring. If disinfection is neglected, it can easily lead to disease outbreaks and cause huge economic losses.
In spring, chickens are often disinfected by drinking water, that is, adding disinfectants (such as white toxin, strong disinfectant wine, sodium hypochlorite, etc.) in proportion to the drinking water and drinking it once a week. The ground of the chicken coop can be disinfected by spraying with dry powder disinfectants such as white lime and strong disinfectant, and it is appropriate to spray once or twice a week.
4. reduce stress
reducing stress is also the important tips of how to raise chickens in spring, chickens are timid, easily frightened and very sensitive to changes in the outside environment. Therefore, there must be a certain time and sequence for raising chickens, adding water, collecting eggs, disinfecting, cleaning and cleaning manure. If there is a strong sound outside, such as the sound of firecrackers and ear-splitting gongs during the festival, the breeder should enter the coop in time to create a sense of security for the chickens that “the master is around”. You can also add the right amount of multivitamins or other anti-stress drugs to the feed or water to prevent and reduce the losses caused by stress.
5. Keep the house dry and fresh air
In spring, because the chicken coop closed tight, high density of feeding, chicken respiration, excrement, air humidity, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and other harmful gas content increased, which is easy to make the chicken respiratory disease. preveting disease is the most important tips of how to raise chickens in spring, therefore, we must pay attention to ventilation in spring to reduce the concentration of harmful gases and keep the house dry and fresh air.
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6. reduce wet
Low ventilation in the chicken coop in spring reduces moisture evaporation. In addition, the hot air in the coop will condense into a large number of water droplets when it touches the cold roof and walls, causing excessive humidity in the coop and generating a large number of bacteria and parasites, which affects the health condition of the chickens. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the management when raising chickens in spring, pay attention to keep the ground in the chicken coop clean and dry, repair the damaged water tank in time, and strictly prohibit the splashing of water into the chicken coop.
7. Moderate ventilation
Due to the low temperature in spring, the doors and windows of chicken coops are tightly closed and the ventilation is reduced, but the exhaust gas discharged from chicken coops and the harmful gases such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide produced by chicken coops can cause chicken manure to ferment. When the air in the chicken coop is polluted, it is easy to induce respiratory diseases in chickens. Ventilation is the most effective way to prevent chicken diseases among the advice on how to raise chickens in spring.
Therefore, the relationship between ventilation and warmth should be effectively handled, and the manure and debris in the chicken coop should be removed in a timely manner. When the weather is good at noon, open the windows to ventilate the house so that the air is fresh and oxygen is sufficient.
8. prevent cold and keep warm
The cold and changeable climate in spring brings many inconveniences to chicken rearing, especially the low temperature is very obvious to laying hens. In general, appropriate methods such as increasing stocking density, closing doors and windows, hanging, etc., can be used to warm the chicken coop by means of grass curtains, drinking warm water, stoves for heating, etc., so that the temperature of the chicken coop is kept comfortable when raising chickens in spring at least 3 to 5℃.
what should you pay attention to raise chickens in spring
what should you pay attention to raise chickens in spring? spring is the prime season for hatching and the season when chickens are prone to disease. Therefore, it becomes crucial to keep chickens in spring to prevent diseases. The following are some tips for chicken farmers on what should you pay attention to raise chickens in spring.
1. Insist on self-reliance. When you need to buy chickens from other places, you must go through the quarantine of the local veterinary department. Newly purchased chickens should be kept in isolation, and those who have not been vaccinated should be vaccinated in time. They can be reared in mixed groups after half a month.
2. Vaccines are not purchased from private individuals. Most of the vaccines sold privately are of low quality or expired and expired. After use, they will not achieve the effect of epidemic prevention, but also easily cause other chickens to get sick.
3. Dead chickens should be buried or burned. Prevent the spread of the source of infection and spread to healthy chickens when raising chickens in spring.
4. Large chicken farms should formulate effective immunization programs according to the actual situation. Generally, chicken farmers can use the Newcastle disease II vaccine for intranasal immunization for 7-10-day-old and 35-40-day-old chickens, and then immunize them with intranasal drip or aerosol every 2 months; another immunization method is to immunize 7- The 10-day-old and 35-40-day-old chickens were injected with the Newcastle disease II vaccine intranasally, and the chicken Newcastle disease I vaccine was intramuscularly injected at the age of 3 months.
