Control temperature of young chicks to reduce mortality

摘要

Individual chicks may have different environmental temperature demands. The trick is to provide every chick with the right body temperature. By measuring individual chick temperatures, hatchery staff and broiler growers or layer producers are betterable to provide the right environmental temperature for every flock at all times. This will reduce first week mortality and improve performance. When a chick hatches, it is still more or less cold-blooded and cannot regulate its body temperature properly. To maintain body temperature at the desired level, the young chick depends mainly on its environment. After hatching, the chick gradually transforms into a warmblooded organism that can regulate its body temperature within certain limits by increasingor decreasing heat production or food intake. On average, this transition period lasts about 3-4 days and the duration depends mainly on the size of the chicken and the age of the breeder flock. Small chicks appear to have more problems controlling their temperature because of their relative large surface area compared to body mass. For chicks from a young breeder flock, (till 35 weeks) the transition to a fully developed heat regulating system lasts about 24 to 48 hours longer compared to chicks froman older flock. This process is not clearly understood, but we must realise that chickens from different sources may have different temperature requirements.