The environmental control during the brooding period includes indoor temperature, humidity, light, ventilation, and stocking density.
1. Temperature control
The principle of supplying temperature is: the initial period should be high, and the later period should be low; the weak brood should be high and the strong brood should be low; the night should be high and the day should be low; the difference between the above high and low temperature should be 2°C. At the same time, the temperature of the chicken house is 5-8° C. lower than the temperature in the brooding chamber. The temperature in the brooder is high near the heat source, and the temperature is far from the heat source, which is favorable for the chicks to select a suitable place, and is also conducive to the air. flow. Suitable temperature and high and low limit values ​​for brooding period are shown in Table 1.
Adjust the temperature by watching the flock. The condition of the chicks under different temperature conditions is as follows. The temperature is suitable for the chicks to be energetic, lively and active, with good appetite, moderate drinking water, smooth and tidy feathers, and evenly distributed, resting prone around the warming umbrella or on the brooding cage at the bottom, stretching head and neck, sometimes The wings spread out, sleeping on the side and sleeping quietly. Low temperature chicks crowded around the heat source or get together, feathers erected, slow movement, neck narrowing, eyes closed screaming, disturbed sleep, decreased drinking water. The temperature is too high The chicks are far away from the heat, the bottom of the net is open, the wings are open, the mouth is breathing, the breath is quicker, and the water is frequently consumed.
2. Humidity control
In general, the humidity in the early brooding period is high and late. When the humidity is low, water may be sprayed on the floor, vaporized through a vessel, or combined with chicken sterilization to increase humidity. If the humidity is too low, the house dust, feather dust, flying feathers, chick feathers are poorly developed and susceptible to respiratory diseases. If the humidity is too high, harmful gases increase, and are susceptible to diseases such as coccidia. The suitable relative humidity in the brooding period is shown in Table 2.
3. Lighting control
A reasonable lighting system can strengthen the metabolic activity of chickens, increase appetite, help calcium and phosphorus absorption, promote the development of chicks' bones, improve the body immunity, and help the growth and development of chickens. The lighting time of open and semi-open chicken houses should take into account changes in local sunshine hours. During the brooding period, the light time can only be reduced and cannot be increased so as to avoid premature sexual maturation and affect the subsequent production performance. Artificial supplement light can not be long, short, so as not to cause irritation, loss of light. Avoid light leakage in dark times.
4. Ventilation
Maintaining fresh air inside the house is one of the important conditions for the normal growth and development of a chick. The air quality of the house can be judged by the breeder as to whether the harmful gas content is excessive. If you enter the henhouse in the morning, you will feel a lot of odors, a long time and a dazzling sensation, indicating that the concentration of ammonia gas and the carbon dioxide content exceed the standard, requiring ventilation. When people enter the shed, there is no obvious odor, no pungent, astringent eye feeling, do not feel chest tightness, belching, then the air quality in the home is good. In the shed, it is necessary to prevent thieves from invading. The specific requirements for ventilation and ventilation are: In the winter season: The ventilation volume is 0.7-1 cubic meters per hour per kilogram body weight of the chicks, and the airflow speed is 0.2-0.3 meters per second; In spring and autumn, the ventilation volume is 1.5-2.5 cubic meters per kilogram body weight of the chicks. m/h, airflow speed 0.3-0.4 m/s; summer: ventilation volume is 5 cubic meters per hour per kilogram of body weight of the chicks, airflow rate is 0.6-0.8 m/s.
5. Breeding density
When flattening on the ground or on the Internet, the brooding house should be divided into several quarters with metal nets, plastic nets or other materials. It is more appropriate to keep 100-300 chicks in each plot. The area of ​​the cell can be determined according to the density of Table 3. For medium-sized chickens, raise 3-5 eggs per square meter less than small varieties. In winter, early spring, autumn season and when the weather is cold, there can be 3-5 more animals per square meter. When the summer weather is hot, the temperature is high, and the humidity is high, the amount of breeding per square meter must be reduced by 3-5. According to the growth and development of chicks and brooding methods, different rearing densities were adopted for feeding, as shown in Table 3.