Summer: critical period for egg production in Brazil

Between 18°C and 24°C. This is the temperature range considered ideal for poultry production. Imagine, then, what happens in times like these (summer), when some regions of the country face hot days with thermometers reaching 35°C? It is a fact that temperatures above (or below) this level trigger the birds thermoregulation mechanisms as a means of defense. The point is that this can lead to serious problems.

Heat stress causes a series of consequences

This is why summer, a period of high temperatures and more frequent rainfall, is very critical and challenging for technicians and production managers of laying farms. Poultry are very sensitive to heat spikes and cannot withstand extreme temperatures for long.

The main effect is heat stress, which causes a series of consequences, such as:

• Decreased feed consumption and increased water ingestion;
• Lower growth rate;
• Decreased egg production;
• Increased incidence of thin-shelled eggs;
• Increased enteritis;
• Increased mortality;
• Loss of farm productivity;
• Lower profits.

Because of heat stress, birds are more prone to enteritis such as Focal Duodenal Necrosis (FND). A disease that is often silent, is associated with infections by the bacteria Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium colinum and causes great economic impact to farms.

The weight of the eggs decreases by approximately 2.5 to 4 grams and, as if this were not enough, it can take a long time to bring them back to the standard weight for their age.

So, how can you get through the summer without having major economic impacts on production and profitability?

Avoiding heat stress and reducing economic losses

Climate-controlled houses are efficient tools to avoid the impact of high temperatures and thus maintain high productivity. When well planned, they provide the dissipation of the body heat produced by the birds and of the gases produced by the litter – mitigating the stressful thermal effects.

Currently, there are negative pressure acclimatized houses in Brazil, with cooling techniques using evaporative plates. However, despite growing in new projects, having this structure is not yet common in most Brazilian farms.

In such cases, it is possible to adopt measures associated with animal welfare that help mitigate the impact of heat on birds in houses with uncontrolled environments. See which ones they are:

Care with management

Double attention and quick action are necessary requirements for managers, technicians, and employees involved in poultry care.

Monitoring the temperature in the house, keeping the birds’ water tanks in a shaded place, having fans in the house and a fogging system are management tips that help mitigate the impact of heat on birds.

It is also necessary to observe the behavior of the birds flushing the drinker line at the hottest times of the day, providing fresh water and in volume, as well as maintaining thermal comfort also in the enclosure areas, providing shaded areas for the free-range birds.

The purpose of ventilation in poultry houses is to maintain a sufficiently high air speed or a sufficiently low house temperature so that the birds can maintain their body temperature. This is because heat generation by the bird, a caloric increase in the environment due to the layer’s high body metabolism, is large: each bird generates heat equivalent to a 20-watt light bulb. This is a major concern, especially in automated open houses and with vertical cage systems.

But, as the combination of heat and humidity – typical of summer – can be fatal for layer hens, attention is needed. During the day, when there is more heat and less humidity, it is recommended to use ventilation and foggers to the maximum; at night, the use of sprinklers or foggers should be avoided. In addition, on extremely hot days, with ambient temperatures above 35°C, it is recommended to spray water directly on the birds to avoid increased mortality due to fatigue of the birds’ thermoregulatory system.

Nutrition Tips

When they are in their thermal comfort zone, layers breathe 25 times per minute. As the temperature increases, this number also increases: it can reach 250 times per minute. This panting is the bird’s attempt to lose heat by breathing, because the covering of the feathers will make this task difficult and, in extreme cases, can lead to the death of the animal.

This happens because the bird that pant in this way eliminates a lot of water and ends up weakened. The consequence is experienced in egg production, which becomes much thinner than normal. But it is not only water that the bird loses. With heat stress, food consumption also drops, and there is a drop in calcium and phosphorus levels, which contributes to more fragile eggshells.

As the birds pant, they lose too much carbon dioxide from their lungs and too many bicarbonate ions. Therefore, at this time of year it is common for nutrition experts, in order to reduce caloric increment and review parameters, to guide to the replacement of 30% of salt by sodium bicarbonate or, at least, insert supplements and electrolytes in the diet via drinking water.

Adjustments in the nutritional levels of feed formulations are also recommended for this season and should be recommended by a nutritionist.

Probiotic is a great ally in the combat and prevention

In addition to the care with the management of temperature and humidity of the environment of the houses, water quality and temperature, one of the points of attention should be the maintenance of the balance of the intestinal microbiota.

The use of probiotics in these periods of stress due to high temperature variations is a great ally for contributing to the eubiosis (balance) of the microbiota of the birds, to preserve the intestinal integrity and to avoid the loss of performance of the birds.

Probiotics preserve the intestinal integrity and improve the digestion and absorption of nutrients from the feed. By colonizing the intestine with beneficial bacteria, maintaining and restoring the microbiota of the birds, they avoid opportunistic diseases such as enteritis, contribute so that there is no loss of performance of the birds, help to reduce unnecessary spending on medication, and also contribute to profitability.

Egg production reaches the expected levels, i.e. good shell and size. Two probiotics indicated for this period of high temperatures are Colostrum® Mix and Colostrum® Bio21 Mix.

Talk to Biocamp and understand which program is best for your farm.

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