1. Ensure adequate water supply for laying hens.
A chicken drinks about twice as much water as it eats, and it will be higher in summer.
Chickens have two drinking water peaks every day, namely 10:00-11:00 in the morning after laying eggs and 0.5-1 hour before lights out.
Therefore, all our management work should stagger this period and never interfere with the chickens’ drinking water.
| The ratio of food intake and water intake at different ambient temperatures | Dehydration symptoms | ||
| Ambient temperature | Proportion（1：X） | Body part signs | Behavior |
| 60oF（16℃） | 1.8 | Crowns and wattles | atrophy and cyanosis |
| 70oF（21℃） | 2 | hamstrings | bulge |
| 80oF（27℃） | 2.8 | stool | loose, faded |
| 90oF（32℃） | 4.9 | weight | rapid decline |
| 100oF（38℃） | 8.4 | chest muscles | missing |
2. Feed water at night to reduce dead scouring.
Although the drinking water of the chickens stopped after the lights were turned off in summer, the excretion of water did not stop.
The excretion and heat dissipation of the body cause a large amount of water loss in the body and the negative effects of multiple adverse effects of high temperature in the environment, resulting in blood viscosity, blood pressure, and body temperature.
Therefore, starting from the period when the average temperature exceeds 25°C, turn on the lights for 1 to 1.5 hours about 4 hours after the lights are turned off at night (do not count the lighting, the original lighting program remains unchanged).
And people want to enter the chicken coop, put the water at the end of the water line for a while, wait for the water temperature to cool, and then close it.
Turning on the lights at night to let the chickens drink water and feed is an effective measure to make up for the shortage of feed intake and drinking water in the hot daytime and reduce the incidence of death.
3. It is important to keep the water cool and clean.
In summer, when the water temperature exceeds 30°C, chickens are unwilling to drink water, and the phenomenon of overheated chickens is easy to occur.
Keeping the drinking water cool and hygienic in summer is the key to flock health and good egg production performance.
In order to keep the water cool, it is recommended to put the water tank on the wet curtain, and build a shade or bury it underground;
Regularly monitor the water quality, clean the water line every week, and clean the water tank every half month (use special detergent or quaternary ammonium salt disinfectant).
4. Ensure adequate nipple water output.
Chickens with sufficient drinking water have improved heat stress resistance and reduced mortality in summer.
The water output of the nipple of the A-type cage for laying hens should not be less than 90 ml/min, preferably 100 ml/min in summer;
H-type cages can be appropriately reduced considering problems such as thin feces.
Nipple water output is related to nipple quality, water pressure and waterline cleanliness.
5. Check nipples frequently to prevent blockages and leaks.
The position where the nipple is blocked has more material left, and the time is a little longer to affect egg production.
Therefore, in addition to frequent inspections and excluding the occurrence of nipple blockage, it is necessary to reduce drinking water administration as much as possible.
In the high temperature season, the feed after the nipple leaks and gets wet is very prone to mildew and deterioration, and the chickens will suffer from disease and increase the death rate after eating.
Therefore, it is necessary to regularly check and replace the leaking nipple, and remove the wet feed in time, especially the moldy feed under the interface and the trough utensils.
Post time: Jul-13-2022
