In the breeding of chickens, the problem of low feed intake of broilers will occur in high temperature days. If the feed intake is small, the intake of nutrients will be insufficient, which will affect the growth and development of broilers, slow down weight gain, and even in severe cases. Sickness and even death. How to increase the feed intake of broilers? Let's take a look!
 
Reasons for the decline in feed intake of broilers in summer
1. Heat stress factors
In the cage mode, the stocking density is high and the temperature is relatively high. It is difficult to adjust the temperature in the chicken house to a suitable temperature. Broilers living in such an environment for a long time will experience heat stress, and a series of adverse reactions will occur, among which obvious is the decrease in feed intake.
 
The main reasons are: ①The chicken will produce heat after eating the feed, which will increase the extra temperature, and the chicken will reduce the food intake out of self-protection. ②In summer, broiler chickens drink more water at high temperature, and heat is taken away by excretion of drinking water, while a large amount of drinking water will cause dysbiosis in the intestinal tract, thereby reducing the peristaltic function of the gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens, resulting in a decrease in digestive ability, resulting in a decrease in feed intake.
 
2. Feeding and management factors
In order to achieve the purpose of cooling, the water curtain is often used. If the timing is not accurate, the broiler is easy to catch cold, the fan is not turned on properly, the wind speed at the fan end is too large, and the matching between the fan and the air inlet is not appropriate, resulting in the temperature of the fan end being too high. These will result in a decrease in feed intake.
 
3. Feed factor
The hardness and size of the pellets have a great influence on the feed intake of broilers. The greater the hardness of the feed, the less the feed intake of the broilers. Due to the objective existence of mold, in the process of storage and feeding, it is easy to cause the content of mold in the feed to exceed the standard. When the mold is deposited in the body to a certain extent, it will induce adenomyosis and hepatitis syndrome, which will seriously affect the feeding of chickens.
 
4. Disease factors
Broilers grow too fast in the later stage and have poor disease resistance, and there will be a stage with low antibody titers. At this time, they are vulnerable to pathogens and become sick. Therefore, disease prevention in the later stage of growth is particularly critical.
 
5. Physiological factors
Broilers have a fast metabolism and underdeveloped sweat glands. Under high temperature, the heart rate of broilers will be accelerated, making them more prone to the decrease in feed intake caused by heat stress than other animals.
How to increase the feed intake of broilers
1. In a suitable temperature range. Chickens have good appetite and eat more food under low temperature conditions.
2. Pay attention to the full price of the ration and improve the palatability of the ration.
3. Chickens have the habit of eating pellets, and pellets are easily softened and broken after entering the crop, which shortens the time for feeding and digestion. Chickens tend to increase their hunger and increase their feed intake, so they should be fed as much as possible. For granular or crushed material.
4. Establish good conditioning. Feeding at regular and fixed points is conducive to the establishment of conditioned reflexes of broiler chickens to maintain a strong appetite, thereby increasing the amount of feed intake. At the same time, be careful not to suddenly change the feed variety.
5. In the case of free feeding and free drinking water, less frequent feeding, no moldy feed, ensure drinking water, and often maintain a good appetite, which is also an effective way to increase the feed intake of broiler chickens.
6. Improve the feeding trough, provide the feeding trough with a reasonable structure according to the age of the chickens, and adjust the height of the feeding trough according to the age and weight of the chickens. The trough should be placed in a fixed, clean place.
 
There are many reasons for the decline in feed intake of broilers in summer. We need to understand why, find out the reasons, and use the correct method to increase the feed intake of broilers.
 
Any questions about the chicken feed, please come to LIMA.