Among the pillars of the production chain in the poultry sector, the environment is an important factor that has advanced, due to better facilities, more efficient equipment, technologies that provide us with quick data and how to manage the different modes and thus favor the thermal comfort of the birds.
Birds are homeothermic animals and therefore depend on the temperature of the environment to maintain their body temperature at an average of 40.6°C.
In the first days of life, the major heat exchange of the birds occurs through conduction, which is the heat exchange between the bird and the litter. For this heat exchange to be zero, the litter needs to be at an average temperature of 30-32°C. Hence the importance of preheating the shed. Considering also that in the initial phase of the birds the thermoregulatory system is not yet fully formed.
If these birds go through temperature challenges, there is a drop in performance in which their metabolism is altered.
When the temperature in the shed is lower than ideal for the birds, much of the nutrients in the feed that would be used for growth will be diverted to maintain their thermal regulation.
We have to take into account that on average, 80% of the nutrients ingested by chicks are destined for growth and the other 20% for basal metabolism.
Chicks have a very high weight gain potential in the first days of life, reaching 4.6 times their initial weight in 7 days.
Thus, any and all challenges faced by the birds will impair this weight gain ratio.
Considering the main types of heaters (oven and gas hood), before acquiring a heating system it is necessary to analyze all the variables and evaluate item by item, among which the main ones are:
Heater efficiency;
Equipment life;
Depreciation;
Maintenance;
Labor hours to operate;
Labor cost according to heater type;
Energy cost;
Worker safety;
Equipment technical assistance;
Availability of raw materials in the region;
Average cost/batch of raw materials.
On the other hand, if these birds experience heat stress, they will consume more water and less feed due to an increase in body temperature, and consequently an increase in the rate of feed passage, reducing nutrient absorption.
In addition, birds in high temperature conditions exchange heat by evaporation, a latent exchange that consumes a lot of body energy.
It is extremely important to control the environment in which the birds are kept, since the birds’ biological heat excha...
