Care for chickens is a time-consuming process that requiressufficient knowledge. Birds, like human beings, are susceptible to various diseases, and this can be caused by both hypothermia and excessive heat. The temperature of the chicken's body depends on how warm or cold it is on the street and in the room. The norm should be approximately 41 aboutC. As excessive cold, and unbearable heat becomes the cause of malaise of birds and leads to various diseases.
Hypothermia in chickens
During significant colds, the body is unable to maintain heat, and therefore the body temperature of the chicken is reduced, which can lead to various diseases. Hypothermia is of three types:
- slight supercooling, in which the bird's temperature drops to 35 aboutFROM;
- average subcooling - is reduced by another 10 aboutC and is already 25 aboutFROM;
- a severe degree of cooling, in which the body is cooled to 15 aboutFROM.
Not only can chickens suffer from hypothermia.Subcooling harms all kinds of poultry, but chicks are most prone to it, as thermoregulation in their organisms is practically absent. As a result, the death of birds is observed, but even if they manage to survive, it is extremely difficult to recover, they are ill for a very long time.
In young individuals, hypothermia occurs as a result ofinability to maintain a stable body temperature within normal limits. Therefore, the first month of their life, chickens need additional heating, as if deviating from the proper temperature regime, death of the brood very soon occurs. Also, one should not allow the fluff of chickens to get wet.
Lowering the body temperature of the hens does not comeonly because of the cold, but also because of the excess moisture in the henhouse, because of drafts. This also happens because of the birds' walking during dew, especially if it is plentiful. Adult chickens are not as susceptible to hypothermia as young individuals, but combining cold and high humidity can certainly lead to hypothermia.
Symptoms and treatment of hypothermia in chickens
First you need to diagnose hypothermia inbirds: it starts to tremble, the skin and mucous membranes become noticeably cooler, and the hen itself always searches for a place where it can keep warm. Appetite disappears, diarrhea can be observed. The bird becomes weak and weak, it is overcome by drowsiness, and from the nasal passages there may be a discharge.
Treatment of hens with hypothermia can vary independing on the degree of its severity, but all measures should be to intensively warm the birds, namely: putting it in a warm and dry room, abundant warm drink.
To prevent hypothermia in chickens, you can lubricate her skin with fat, and it is also important to take care of the warmth and dryness in the place of their maintenance.
The influence of high temperatures on the state of chickens
Heat stress, like hypothermia, leads to extremely negative consequences for the health and life of chickens. Thus, even at an air temperature of 32 aboutWith the death of poultry.A feature of chickens is the absence of sweat glands, which greatly complicates their thermoregulation. They give off excess heat due to areas of the body without feathers, which are extremely few. When the air temperature reaches the body temperature of the bird, it is impossible to give out excess heat through the skin and it can get rid of the heat only through the beak. She is rescued by frequent breathing, because of what significantly loses weight, and if this procedure does not work, the chicken dies.
High temperatures are extremely difficult to transferchickens, they refuse to eat, put their wings down, trying to find coolness near the ground. They have a delay in growth, the quality of eggs decreases substantially, the size decreases, and the shell becomes very thin.
Helping chickens at high temperatures
First of all, it is necessary to organize ahenhouse, which will significantly reduce the temperature of the bodies in individuals. Also effective is the method of evaporative cooling, in which the poultry house is equipped with a special cooling system. At the same time, air from the street passes through wet paper and reaches room by 10 aboutFROM below.It is extremely important that the birds have enough water, since at high air temperatures its consumption increases up to eight times. Feeding is best done in the early morning and late evening hours, when the bird is least susceptible to heat, and the calorie content of the feed needs to be increased. In drinking water, you can add electrolyte to make up for the loss of useful micronutrients in the body of the chicken.
Negative influence of both heat and cold onthe body of birds can be reduced if the malaise is diagnosed in time. To find out what body temperature the chicken can measure with its thermometer rectally. Conditions of detention should be comfortable and optimal so that the livestock status is stable.
