People are better suited to working during the day and resting at night. I usually get so tired that I need to rest by around two o’clock at the latest. Although I take shifts at night after I started raising chickens, farmers inevitably become exhausted in the early hours of the morning and need to rest. Management can easily go wrong at that point, causing chickens to become ill.
In the course of raising chickens, improper management at night is a major cause of chickens becoming ill. There are reasons for this:
After raising chickens for a long time, farmers all know that colds are the root of all diseases. When chickens catch a cold, they develop respiratory symptoms and weakened resistance, which can also trigger many secondary infections, such as mixed infections involving Escherichia coli and Newcastle disease.
After carefully reviewing our experience in chicken farming, we found that chickens are much more likely to catch colds at night than during the day. What are the main reasons for this?
1, Reduced activity
People rest at night, and the flocks we manage also rest at night. At this time, chickens are less active and generate less body heat. Chickens are more sensitive to external temperatures, so when the temperature is the same during the day and at night, they are more likely to catch a cold at night.
2, external environment
At night, the outdoor temperature drops much lower than during the day. The difference between day and night temperatures is even greater in some mountainous areas, especially after two o’clock at night. When the outdoor temperature drops rapidly, poor insulation in the chicken house or excessive ventilation can easily cause the temperature inside the chicken house to drop quickly, making the chickens catch colds.
3, human factors
Farmers are generally familiar with the local weather. They close the vents at night and reduce ventilation to maintain the temperature in the chicken house. However, after a busy day, they may be tired and easily fall asleep, causing the chickens to get chilled.
Sometimes the weather changes suddenly, and if farmers do not reduce ventilation in time, cold stress can occur and cause the chickens to catch colds.
When chickens suffer cold stress and catch colds for various reasons, they become more difficult to manage. This is especially true under high-density farming conditions: poor air quality in the chicken house allows pathogens to spread rapidly through the air, and the chickens can quickly develop secondary infections.
By changing certain details of our farming practices, we can reduce the risk of chickens catching colds at night and prevent many poultry diseases.
1, raising the temperature
When chickens rest at night, they produce less body heat and are sensitive to the ambient temperature. In particular, when the lights are turned off at night, controlling lighting and feed, and raising the temperature in the chicken house by about one degree Celsius, can effectively reduce the incidence of colds in chickens.
In summer, if the temperature in the chicken house is very high, this approach may not be necessary. However, in actual farming, the day-night temperature difference is still quite large in many places, especially in some mountainous areas. Chickens can still easily catch colds at night, so ventilation should be reduced appropriately.
2, Nighttime Observation
Many farmers are tired at night and can easily make management mistakes. A while ago, after one of my clients had vaccinated the chickens for 14 days, I specifically reminded them that after midnight, the temperature would drop quickly, and to keep the chicken house warm and prevent the chickens from getting cold.
However, the farmer was too tired. The chickens were already stressed after vaccination, and strong winds blew that night. The farmer did not get up to close the ventilation windows in time, causing the chickens to catch colds.
Therefore, farmers should get up at night to observe the flock, especially after two o'clock at night. In summer, it is relatively hot during the first half of the night, but in some places it is still quite cool during the second half. Young chicks are very susceptible to getting cold and catching colds.
Also, once the chickens are resting at night, it is relatively quiet. By entering the chicken house to observe the flock, we can get a good understanding of respiratory symptoms and the condition of the droppings. This helps us detect abnormalities in the flock promptly and control the illness quickly.