What are the precautions for raising chicks in winter?
Chicks have very weak survival ability in the cold conditions of winter, so protection is especially important. In winter, the most important things for chicks are temperature control and ventilation management, so what should be noted in these aspects? Below, Qinnong Network brings you the precautions in these aspects, and you can learn about them.
1. Check the chicken coop
In winter, in order to maintain the indoor temperature of the chicken coop, it is recommended that except for the vents and entrance, all other places be kept under closed management. First, the heating equipment should be checked well to ensure that the warm air supplied will not go directly toward chicks in one direction. Second, carefully check whether there are any places with air leaks, and whether the places with air leaks have a big impact on the chicken coop. Next, check whether the daylight can illuminate most of the chicken coop, and whether the light bulbs allow all chicks to get reasonable light. Finally, carefully check whether the exhaust gas emitted by the heating equipment will return into the chicken coop through the vents.
2. Temperature control
After the inspection is completed, closed temperature control should begin. Before the chicks' feathers have fully grown in, the room temperature should be controlled above 30°C. As time goes on, it can be lowered gradually. In the early stage, lower it by 1-2°C every week; in the later stage, keep the temperature constant, controlled above 20°C. The temperature adjustment should be made according to the condition of the chicks. If most chicks often huddle together, it means the temperature is too low and should be raised appropriately. When they often stand, walk around, and rest for extremely short periods, the temperature is too high.
3. Moisture prevention and ventilation
Although winter is a dry season, because closed temperature-controlled management is used for breeding, water in the chick coop evaporates relatively quickly, and there is relatively more moisture. Therefore, attention must always be paid to moisture prevention, otherwise it can easily cause some diseases. The ventilation method for chicks is different from that for adult chickens. For chicks, brief ventilation is emphasized. It is best to first let the temperature inside the coop rise a little, then use ventilation to bring the temperature down, so that the chicks will not be attacked by cold air, and the temperature of the chicken coop will not fluctuate too much.
4. Disinfection and disease prevention
Disinfection before winter for chicks must be done well. It is best to carry out a complete disinfection of the chicken coop once before starting closed management, as this will effectively kill many pathogens. Disinfection should also be carried out at irregular intervals in winter, and at this time disinfection mostly focuses on the feed troughs and water troughs. In terms of hygiene, in addition to cleaning up chicken manure in time, the bedding material for the chicks also needs to be replaced regularly, especially if the chicks have chicken manure on their bodies, which must be cleaned off in time. Second, some disease-prevention drugs need to be added to the feed to improve the chicks' resistance.
Raising chicks in winter is very tiring, because chicks are already extremely fragile during this period, and combined with environmental factors, even more attention is needed. With everyone's careful care in many aspects, these chicks will surely bring everyone a big harvest after spring begins.