Summer heat is one of the biggest challenges for chicken farms. When the temperature exceeds 30 ℃, the feed intake of the chicken group decreases, the egg laying rate decreases, and even the heat stress death occurs. Many farming households try to cool down, but some practices are not only ineffective, but may aggravate the problem.
The following is a summary of 5 common cooling mistakes and corresponding correct practices for your reference.
Mistake 1: More fans, better ventilation
Phenomenon: Some farming households think that the temperature in the house can be reduced as long as more fans are installed. As a result, the electricity cost is doubled, but the cooling effect is not obvious.
Fact: It is not the number of fans but the effective air flow rate that cools the temperature in the chicken house. When the wind speed in the house reaches 2-3 m/s, the body temperature of the chicken can be reduced by 5-8 ℃. However, the premise is that the air inlet area matches the exhaust air volume of the fan, otherwise, the fan will “rush” to form turbulence.
Proper practice:
·Based on the cross sectional area of the chicken house, calculate the total air volume required and select the appropriate number and specification of fans.
·The air inlet (wet curtain area or side window) shall match the total exhaust air volume of the fan. Generally, it is recommended that the air inlet area is about 1.5-2 times of the fan area.
·Regularly clean the fan blades, louvers and protective nets to ensure that the actual air volume is not attenuated.
Mistake 2: The wetter the wet curtain, the better. Keep the water pump on
Phenomenon: Some people think that the wetter the surface of the wet curtain is, the better the cooling effect is. Therefore, the water pump is not stopped for 24 hours. As a result, the wet curtain is too wet and drips, but affects the ventilation.
Fact: The wet curtain cooling relies on water evaporation and heat absorption. When the wet curtain is completely wet and the surface has a flowing water film, the evaporation efficiency is the highest. If there is too much water, the water film will thicken and block the air, and the water drops will be directly sucked into the chicken house by the fan to increase the humidity.
Proper practice:
·Intermittent water supply: pause 3-5 minutes after 1-2 minutes of pump operation to keep the wet curtain wet without water dripping.
·Install the return water system, and recycle the excess water to the pond to avoid waste.
·Clean the water tank and filter screen regularly to prevent algae or scale from blocking the water pipe.
Mistake 3: Close the window in the daytime and open the window at night
Phenomenon: In summer, people close all doors and windows of the chicken house and only rely on the fan to exhaust air due to fear of hot air entering; At night, the temperature drops and the windows are opened widely.
Fact: Closing windows in the daytime will cause insufficient area of air inlet, failure of fan pumping, too high negative pressure in the house, unavailability of fresh air and hypoxia of chicken. Large opening of windows at night destroys negative pressure ventilation, cold air settles, and chicken abdomen is cooled.
Proper practice:
·Longitudinal ventilation mode is adopted in the daytime: close the side windows, open only the wet curtain air inlet at one end of the chicken house, and the fan at the other end exhausts air to form “tunnel air”.
·When the temperature drops below 28 ℃ at night, it can be switched to transitional ventilation or transverse ventilation. Some fans are operating, and the side windows are opened properly to keep the air flowing but not blowing the chicken directly.
Mistake Zone 4: only cool in the daytime and ignore at night
Phenomenon: Many farming households only turn on the cooling equipment during the high temperature period in the daytime, and turn off all equipment when the temperature drops slightly at night.
Fact: Although the temperature drops at night, the chicken house may still accumulate a lot of carbon dioxide, ammonia and residual heat during the day. If ventilation was not provided at night, the feed intake decreased significantly the following day when the flock was in a stifling, anoxic environment.
Proper practice:
·Minimal ventilation shall be maintained at night (calculated according to the weight and number of chickens), and regular circulation ventilation shall be used (for example, 2 minutes on and 3 minutes off).
·If possible, 1-2 fans shall be operated at night to keep the air in the house fresh.
Mistake Zone 5: Neglecting equipment maintenance and being anxious in case of failure
Phenomenon: the wet curtain, fan and controller are not maintained all the year round, and the equipment is not urgently repaired until the strike in high temperature days, which often causes losses.
Proper practice:
·Monthly: clean fan blades and louvers; Check the belt tension; Clean the wet cord water pipe and filter screen.
·Quarterly: lubricate motor bearings; Calibrate the temperature and humidity sensor; Test each output port of the controller.
·Spare parts inventory: common fan belt, motor capacitor, wet curtain water pump, sensor and other vulnerable parts to prevent sudden failure.
summary
Summer chicken house cooling is a systematic project, not a single equipment stack. The correct practice is: matched fan air volume, wet curtain for intermittent water supply, reasonable air intake design, continuous ventilation at night and regular equipment maintenance.
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