Never ignore these problems when raising chickens in winter

The problem of ventilation and heat preservation

In winter, many chicken farmers often emphasize heat preservation and neglect ventilation, which ultimately leads to oxygen deprivation in the flock and increased deaths. The increased concentration of harmful gases reduces the chickens' constitution and triggers other diseases, especially respiratory diseases. Reasonable ventilation and heat preservation measures mean giving priority to heat preservation at the very beginning of brooding, and afterward adjusting ventilation according to the indoor temperature and outside weather, so as to preserve heat on the basis of ensuring ventilation.

The problem of restricted feeding

When restricting feeding, a plan should first be made according to the hatching date and development standards. It generally starts from 6 to 8 weeks and ends at 18 to 20 weeks of age. At the beginning, the crude protein content in the daily ration can be about 16%, and the feed supplied is 85% to 90% of free feeding. After 14 weeks of age, the crude protein proportion can be reduced by 1% each week until it reaches 13% to 14%. Restricted feeding also requires attention to the condition of the flock, culling sick, weak and disabled chickens, and ensuring enough feeding troughs and water troughs. At the same time, sample weighing should be done every week, and the increase or decrease of feed should be decided at any time according to body weight.

The problem of forced molting

Usually laying hens are kept for only one laying cycle, that is, about 10 to 12 months of laying. However, with changes in the egg market, using forced molting on laying hens to extend the laying period is a very good method. Generally, after forced molting, the laying period can be extended by another 6 to 9 months. During forced molting, artificial supplementary lighting is stopped. The number of days of water supply and feed withdrawal should be such that the chickens' body weight drops by 25% to 30%, generally 10 to 12 days, that is, from the 13th day, 30 grams/day/bird of grower feed can be given. After that, increase by 20 grams per day, until 90 grams/day/bird on the 19th day. From the 20th day, provide grower feed for free feeding. From the 27th day, extend the lighting time by 0.5 hours per day until 10 hours/day, and provide layer feed for free feeding.