Overheating
When chicks are overheated they will be:
- Panting
- Lying down with limbs and neck stretched out
- Opening and dropping their wings
- Moving away from heat source
- Avoiding to feed
- Drinking a lot leading to watery crop
- Poor growths and deaths may result
- To control overheating, open up the curtains then reduce the amount of heat in the brooder.
Chilling
When birds are chilled they will be:
- Hurdling together under heat source or and corners
- Chirping/ crying as they hurdle
- Avoiding drinking water while preferring to feed ending up with crop impaction and or cloacal prolapse or blockage.
- Having wet pasted vents due to excess mucus secretion from the gut leading to wet litter
- May develop diarrhea, respiratory problems due to irritation from ammonia, overfeed to keep warm, grow poorly, develop ascites and flip over
- To control chilling, increase amount of heat in the house then close the curtains. Check for any draughts and correct.
Activities during brooding
- Feeding
- Watering
- Temperature control
- Air quality control
- Cleaning of feeders
- Vaccination
- Culling
- Record keeping