During the transition from summer to autumn, sharp temperature fluctuations, a significant increase in the day-night temperature difference, and complex changes in humidity pose serious challenges to environmental management on large-scale layer farms. Good environmental management is key to maintaining flock health and stable egg production. The following are key points for managing the environment during this seasonal transition.
I. Precise Temperature Control to Cope with Sharp Fluctuations
Pay attention to nighttime warmth: The greatest risk at this time is a sudden drop in temperature at night or in the early morning. Weather forecasts, especially minimum temperatures, need to be closely monitored.
Adjust thermostat settings gradually: Do not lower the target temperature too much at once. In line with the downward trend in outdoor temperatures, lower it by 0.1°C per day or 0.5°C per week, ultimately keeping the target temperature at around 21°C so the flock can adapt gradually.
Check the poultry house for air leaks: Carefully check the doors, windows, air inlets, cooling pads, areas around exhaust fans, roof, side walls, and other parts of the poultry house for air leaks (check whether the side windows open to the same angle and whether they can close completely). Cold drafts are particularly harmful to the flock and must be sealed off.
Adjust the ventilation mode: Gradually transition from summer longitudinal ventilation (tunnel ventilation) to transitional ventilation (mixed ventilation) or minimum ventilation mode. Ensure that the temperature setpoints for switching fans on and off are appropriate, to avoid excessive ventilation when temperatures drop suddenly.
Use supplementary heating when necessary: On particularly cold nights or during cold snaps, for chicks, pullets, or flocks in the early laying period, equipment such as warm-air heaters may need to be used briefly for supplementary warmth to prevent cold stress.
Cooling pad management: Decide whether to turn on the cooling pads and how much to use them based on actual temperature and humidity. If the outdoor humidity is high (>70%), cooling pads are less effective and will increase humidity in the poultry house, so use them cautiously or only for inlet air cooling. They can be used normally when humidity is low.
Keep fans operating efficiently: Ensure that all fans are working properly, belt tension is appropriate, and shutters open smoothly, maintaining maximum ventilation capacity in case it is needed.
II. Fine-tuned ventilation management: balancing heat retention and air exchange
Minimum ventilation is key: When the cooling pads are off and ventilation relies mainly on sidewall inlets, the minimum ventilation program must be set and implemented precisely. Its purpose is to minimize the introduction of cold air while ensuring the flock's basic oxygen requirements are met, moisture (from respiration and fecal moisture) is removed, and harmful gases (ammonia and carbon dioxide) are diluted.
Calculate airflow: Precisely calculate the required minimum ventilation rate based on the number of birds, their weight, and age (cubic meters/hour/kilogram of body weight).
Timed cyclic ventilation: Use a timer to control fan start-up and shutdown (for example, run for 3 minutes and stop for 5 minutes), rather than running the fans continuously at low speed (which can cause cold air to blow in continuously). Adjust cycle times dynamically based on actual temperature, humidity, and air quality.
Control air inlets: The size of the inlet openings must match fan operation, ensuring that cold air enters at a sufficiently high speed and angle (toward the ceiling), allowing it to mix thoroughly with the warm air inside the house and warm up before reaching the flock, thereby preventing cold air from falling directly onto the birds.
Guard against drafts: Any unplanned gaps that let air leak in pose a significant threat and should be inspected regularly.
Closely monitor air quality: Ammonia is the most common harmful gas in autumn and winter. High ammonia levels can seriously damage the respiratory mucosa of chickens and trigger respiratory diseases. The target ammonia concentration should be kept below <10 ppm, preferably below <5 ppm. Levels peak in the early morning or when ventilation is poor, so these periods require close monitoring. In addition, dry autumn conditions may increase dust; good ventilation and humidity management help control it.
Three. Humidity Management
Address high humidity: If persistent autumn rain occurs, outdoor humidity will be extremely high.
Increase ventilation: This is the fundamental way to remove moisture. Even if temperatures are slightly lower, ensure sufficient ventilation to remove moisture and prevent ammonia from accumulating.
Inspect the drinking water system: Prevent leaks and drips.
Address dryness: When the weather turns clear and dry, excessive ventilation may cause indoor humidity to fall too low (<40%), increasing dust.
Adjust ventilation: Avoid excessive ventilation while ensuring minimum ventilation and air quality.
Humidify when necessary: When dust problems are particularly severe, short periods of misting (not a wet curtain) during specific times (such as the afternoon) may be considered, but this should be done cautiously to prevent localized excessive moisture or the temperature from dropping too quickly.
Four, Lighting Management
Natural daylight hours become shorter: After the transition from summer to autumn, the duration of natural daylight decreases noticeably.
Maintain a consistent lighting schedule: For laying flocks, an artificial lighting program must be started or maintained immediately to ensure a constant total daily lighting duration (usually 14-16 hours), with strictly fixed lights-on and lights-off times. Any reduction in lighting duration or fluctuation in timing may lead to a decrease in egg production.
Check the lighting equipment: clean the bulbs/tubes, replace damaged parts, and ensure that lighting intensity is uniform and meets the standard (the floor of a layer hen house typically requires 20-30 lux).
Five. Biosecurity and environmental disinfection
Prevent birds and rodents: Autumn is a season when birds migrate and rodents are highly active. Ensure that bird netting is intact and has no gaps, and strengthen rodent control.
Control mosquitoes and flies: Promptly clear standing water and manure from the premises to reduce mosquito and fly breeding and lower the risk of disease transmission.
Enhanced disinfection: As outdoor temperatures drop, the risk of certain viral diseases (such as avian influenza) may increase. The frequency and effectiveness of disinfection at site and poultry-house entrances should therefore be improved. Disinfecting the birds while they are in the poultry house is more effective when done at midday on a sunny, warmer day. Take care to avoid excessive humidity or cold stress.
Personnel and materials management: Strictly enforce the cleaning and disinfection procedures for personnel and vehicles entering the site.
Six. Monitoring and Records
Real-time monitoring: Use multiple temperature and humidity sensors inside the poultry house, ammonia detectors, and other equipment for real-time monitoring and record-keeping; install an alarm system (for high temperatures, low temperatures, power outages, etc.).
Manual inspections: Caretakers should increase the frequency of inspections at night and in the early morning, observing the flock, listening to breathing sounds, smelling for odors (ammonia), feeling for drafts, and checking equipment operation.
Detailed records: Record the daily maximum/minimum temperature and humidity, ventilation settings, equipment operation, flock performance (feed intake, water consumption, condition, mortality and culling), egg production performance, and so on. These data are an important basis for analysis and management adjustments.
Seven. Emergency preparedness
Backup power supply: Ensure the generator is in good condition and that sufficient fuel is available to deal with possible power outages.
Backup equipment: Critical equipment (such as the main fan and controller) should have backups or a rapid repair plan.
Insulation supplies: Prepare materials for sealing air leaks and temporary heating equipment (such as a hot-air furnace).
Emergency plan: Develop detailed operating procedures for extreme weather (cold waves, strong winds, and prolonged rainy weather).
Environmental management during the transition from summer to autumn puts managers' foresight and ability to operate with precision to the test. By implementing the systematic measures above, environmental stress can be effectively reduced, creating a stable, comfortable environment for the flock and safeguarding its health and consistently high production.