Broilers are delicate birds and some time there is sudden death of the birds and in most cases farmers dont understand the causes of the death.
The two major reasons for sudden death of broilers without any sign of disease are sudden death syndrome and heat stress. The sudden death syndrome occurs in broilers of all ages and infected birds can die due to a heart attack. This can be controlled by different feeding strategies eg feeding the broilers with feeds that have high corn to wheat ratio, feeding broilers on feeds rich in meat meal, feeding broilers on feed with a protein capacity of 24% other than 19% and feeding broilers on feed that is low in calcium, phosphorous, potassium and magnesium.
Heat stress
This is one of the major challenges facing broiler farmers. It results into increased water intake, panting and eventually death. Heat stress can be managed by the ways below.
Proper ventilation. This is key in managing heat stress and ventilation can be increased by including more windows when constructing and use of fans which bring in fresh air. Roof your poultry using aluminium or asbestos however caution should be taken when using asbestos because it is a healthy risk.
Feeding your chicken in the morning and withdrawing the feeders 6 hours before the temperatures get hotter. The feeders can be re introduced after the temperatures have started going down.
The other way of managing heat stress is by giving the birds adequate water and adding ice incase the water is warm to cool it.
Adding electrolytes in the flock‘s drinking water for 3 days. Also supplement the chicken with vitamins like A, B, E and B complex. These are effective in preventing mortalities due to heat stresses.
Ensure you have a proper stocking density in which the hens are not congested.
