High summer temperatures can easily cause sudden death in chickens. How to prevent and treat sudden death in chickens in summer

Chicken

    Sudden death in broiler chickens is mostly caused by the disharmony between overall body growth and heart growth, with excessively rapid development placing too heavy a burden on the heart. In addition, intense noise, continuous lighting, sudden changes in the chicken house, excessive density, and poor ventilation can also increase the incidence of this disease. The incidence rate in roosters is 3 times that in hens, and it occurs more frequently at 2 to 5 weeks of age. In hot summer, it can also be induced by high temperatures and poor body heat dissipation. 

    Clinical symptoms:Sick chickens show no obvious symptoms before onset. They are mostly suddenly startled while eating, drinking, or walking, lose their balance, screech and dart up, flap their wings violently, fall forward or backward, have muscle spasms, land on their backs, and die facing upward by the trough. 

    Necropsy lesions:The dead chickens are well developed, mostly the larger ones. The comb is pale or purplish, the muscles are pale, the lungs are congested, edematous, and dark red, the ventricles are empty, the atria are congested, and the gallbladder is ruptured or bile overflows.  

    Prevention and control measures:Improve the formula, replace animal oil with vegetable oil, and replace pellet feed with mash feed; restrict feeding; improve the rearing environment, adjust temperature and humidity well, maintain hygiene, lighting must not be too long, density should be appropriate, strengthen ventilation, and reduce stress; promptly supplement cool drinking water and supplement sufficient multivitamins.