Poultry farming in the winter impacts poultry generation by increasing the encompassing temperature. When the temperature drops during winter, things like decreased egg production, water use, fruitfulness and hatchability, etc., occur. Consequently, poultry administration amid winter is an essential sympathy toward poultry agriculturists.

To get the maximum profit from poultry farming in winter, the birds should be free from all types of stress. Nowadays, poultry is facing the stress of harsh cold weather, which needs proper management of temperature, humidity, litter, ammonia, feed, water, light and ventilation etc. These are very important while managing the birds as they affect their health and production.

While poultry farming in winter, poultry farmers should take proper care at the following points.

1. Poultry House Management
2. Poultry House Ventilation Management
3. Poultry Litter Management
4. Poultry Feeding Management
5. Poultry Water Management

Poultry House Management :

Poultry houses ought to be composed in such an approach to give all the solace required by winged creatures amid winter. Therefore, introducing a building for wind and sun impacts temperature and light on diverse outer surfaces. In winter, the bend of the sun’s noticeable way is abbreviated, an east-west arrangement of a rectangular house gives the greatest increase of sunlight-based vitality in winter. House ought to be composed so that most extreme daylight enters the shed amid daytime. Feathered creatures should be shielded from chilled winds, for these gunny packs should be hanged at the spots where the frosty air enters. These gunny packs ought to be hanged down when daylight goes at night till the landing of daylight the next morning. Getting brooding right is especially important in winter. While the method does not change temperatures and relative humidity inside the house, the cost and time to achieve the same results increase.

Poultry House Ventilation Management :

Birds discharge a ton of dampness in their breath and droppings, antagonistically influencing their well-being; confined ventilation causes smelling salts to develop noticeably all around, which causes respiratory issues. This way, they require a lot of outside air circling the house. For this reason, sliding windows are valuable as they can be opened during the day and shut down during the night. There ought to likewise be the course of action of fumes fans to evacuate unclean air. The first 24 to 48 hours are crucial in the bird’s life, affecting health and performance throughout the production cycle. While doing poultry farming in winter number of feeders ought to be expanded. Lower winter temperatures cause the air entering the house to fall very quickly to the floor due to the increased weight of moisture instead of mixing with the warmer air in the house and falling more slowly.

As this cold, damp air falls, bedding/litter can “go off” even in the early stages. It is, therefore, crucial to adjust ventilation and heating daily or even hourly to combat this effect. Getting the air and floor temperatures correct is essential, as chicks cannot regulate their body temperature until they are 12-14 days old. Cold weather ventilation or winter ventilation is a new chapter compared to hot day ventilation. Farmers find it a nightmare to control ventilation in winter. Just look at the following points to maintain your cold-weather ventilation.

• Proper insulation and sealing of the shed are a prerequisite. The fans should be operated at minimum capacity to contain maximum heat inside the shed. The inside air quality will deteriorate if minimum ventilation is not provided.
• Increase the ventilation rate according to age. The ventilation rate may be further increased if there is an ammonia or wet litter problem. If the ventilation rate is increased, add some heat to the air. If the house is hot, adjust the addition of heat but don’t tune the fan because fans are required to remove moisture and ammonia.
• If litter gets dusty, decrease the ventilation rate because extra dry litter may result in respiratory problems in the birds. Fresh air should be mixed well with warm air before reaching the birds. Additional fans can be used to recalculate the warm air to save costs.
• Regarding laying birds, one crucial thing is light management. Naturally, birds go on moulting in short days, i.e. in winter. The natural moulting process takes about four months, so the birds go out of production. In such circumstances, giving an extra light is essential to keep them in production. A standard light duration of 14-16 hours is recommended.

Poultry Litter Management:

Before a chick is put in the house, the floor’s surface should be secured with a bedding material called litter. It offers solace to winged animals. A decent quality litter is an encasing in keeping the uniform temperature, likewise ingests dampness and advances drying. It weakens faecal material in this way, diminishing contact in the middle of feathered creatures and fertiliser. It again protects the chicks from the cooling impacts of the ground and gives an insurance pad in the middle of the fowl and floor. Around 6 inches of litter is required in houses in winter. The litter offers warmth to flying creatures in winter. If litter administration is appropriate, it will feel warm when taken close by.

The litter must be managed efficiently because it gets wet quickly with water coming from loose water pipe connections, drinkers, droppings and roof. This will result in cake formation in the litter, which becomes a good medium for anaerobic bacterial growth and ammonia production.

Usually, litter moisture is maintained within the range of 25-35 per cent. The heating and ventilation systems must be continuously monitored to ensure optimum humidity. Wetting of litter is further prevented by quality feed and water. Feed containing high quantities of wheat and barley and water having a high percentage of minerals like sodium, magnesium and chloride make the droppings soft, adding moisture to the litter. If litter gets too much wet and there is cake formation, it is better to replace it.

Another increasing concern is the production of foul odour, especially in farms close to the population. It is also an outcome of wet litter. If the litter is kept dry and there is an efficient ventilation system, this problem is automatically solved. Low pH also retards the degradation of organic matter.

Poultry Feeding Management:

Poultry utilises nourishment for two fundamental purposes, i.e., as a vitality source to keep up body temperature and to bear on ordinary physiological exercises and as a building material for the advancement of bones, substance, quill, egg and so on.

The variety in food utilisation is littler for every degree Fahrenheit change in temperature when the climate is frosty than when it is hot. This is because low temperature causes more encouraged admission and higher oxygen request. Subsequently, it is crucial to give the chicken a lot of sustenance when the weather gets colder as they require additional vitality to maintain body temperature.

Consumption of calories of ME/winged animal/day shifts as the surrounding temperature changes. Typically these distinctions are as per the following:

When winged animals eat more nourishment alongside vitality, different supplements are additionally devoured more, which is not required, and they turn into waste. Therefore, to maintain a strategic distance from this wastage amid winter, vitality-rich sources like oil/fat ought to be added to the eating regimen or the level of different supplements may be decreased, keeping the vitality at the same level.

To give the chicks the best start, they should feed and drink as soon as possible. Poultry farmers should provide additional feed on paper placed on the floor and supplementary drinkers, allowing minor travel for any chick.

It is helpful in the first 24 to 48 hours after placing to select a random sample of chicks a few times and gently check that the crop is full, soft and round to show that feed and water are present and the chick is thriving. Feed and water must be of good quality to allow the chick to start the growing process immediately and aid absorption of the yolk sack.

Feed ought to be accessible to the feathered creature the entire day. It has been tentatively demonstrated that for legitimate development of oven amid summer, a diet containing 23% protein and 3100 Kcal ME/kg eating regimen is required. While in winter, 3400 Kcal/kg ME and 23% protein are needed. Raising the amino acid levels, even above recommended levels, will support better FCR, higher growth rates, and higher breast meat yields. Amino acid density then becomes a matter of setting economic priorities. Higher protein diets will result in higher water intake, more water excretion and higher depositions of nitrogen in the litter. So it is essential to feed Amino Power from the first day to the twentieth.

The maintenance of caloric values in the feed also needs high consideration. Poultry feed should have a higher caloric value than feed offered in the summer season; such feed keeps the birds warm.

Poultry Water Management:

During poultry farming in the winter season, winged creatures take less water so far as support of water in the body; it is essential to give a constant supply of new water which the feathered creature can take.

Poultry drinking water must be crisp and clean, and you should be sanitised with Aquacure. On the off chance that water is sufficiently chilly, it ought to be given to the chicken in the wake of adding boiling water to it so that it comes to ordinary temperature. In ice-falling territories, blockage of the funnel is a major issue because of solidifying of water amid the winter season. Therefore, when the temperature goes below 0°C, a routine assessment of the funnel line should be done to dodge water blockage.

Given that avian animals use less water throughout the winter, many immunisations, prescription medications, and anti-stress vitamins like Growvit Power & Immune Booster should be given to poultry through the water. Therefore, it is important to ensure that water is removed a few hours before water medication and that solution/immunization is administered in smaller amounts so that feathered animals can consume all of the water. Every flying creature benefits from various poultry nutrients, medications, and antibodies.

If you have the right knowledge, take the right precautions, and use high-quality poultry healthcare products, farming poultry in the winter is not difficult. I hope this information may be helpful to you while you raise chickens in the winter.

Author: Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Founder, Growel Agrovet Pvt. Ltd., www.growelagrovet.com