Heat stress during transport of broilers can seriously affect the efficiency and benefits of slaughter, so it may be appropriate to take some appropriate measures to minimize broiler mortality.
In the 21st century, various records were frequently broken, but not every one has a positive meaning. The world’s population has reached 7 billion. How to feed this 7 billion people is a topic that the world must pay attention to. Although the world’s grain production has been increased to some extent, taking the most important cereals, in France and Egypt, 7 tons of wheat can be harvested per hectare of land, and in Japan and South Korea, 5 tons of rice can be produced per hectare of land. The land can produce 10 tons of corn. However, the increase in food production still cannot match the population growth rate, so it is necessary to further increase production efficiency and produce more food. Poultry farming is the most efficient way to convert vegetable proteins into animal proteins. Chicken meat is not only healthy, but also nutritious. Due to the increase in demand, the poultry industry must provide large quantities of poultry meat every day, and measures must be taken to reduce various losses before slaughter and to ensure production efficiency as much as possible. Increasing efficiency can reduce costs. If a chicken dies from heat stress, then 85% of chicken, including visceral miscellaneous items, will be lost.
Return to basics
To reduce the mortality of poultry in transit, it is necessary to first understand some important knowledge about the physiology of poultry. As we all know, poultry is a warm-blooded animal, which means that no matter how the temperature of the external environment changes, the temperature of the internal organs of the poultry, including the brain, liver and intestine, must be kept within a strict range. For chickens, their body temperature can fluctuate between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius. However, nowadays commercial broiler chickens can gain weight more quickly in a short period of time. This breeding mode and weight gain efficiency make it impossible for broilers to effectively use their body functions to cope with heat stress, as well as catch, transport and wait for pre-slaughter stress. Today's broiler breeding time is short, the average slaughter time is only about 45 days, but also to face a series of stress, including: After the chicken is caught, people will generally raise the chicken's feet, so that the chicken head down. The treatment of chickens is simple and crude, and they are kept in narrow cages. These practices will cause the chicken to develop stress. Therefore, arrest, transport, and storage are all sources of stress. Ambient temperature of 22-26 degrees, relative humidity of 60%, more suitable for poultry growth. When the weather is hot, if the temperature reaches 32 degrees, the poultry will have obvious stress response and increase with the increase of humidity. If conditions permit, broilers will regulate through a series of autonomous behaviors, protecting themselves from heat stress. These include:
Reduce activities and lie down on the ground. Raise wings to reduce the thermal insulation effect of feathers, or fluffy feathers, exposing more skin to the air; reduce the body's metabolic rate, reduce heat production, such as stop eating; pant; increase drinking water. The direction of body blood flow from the center of the body to the surface, such as flowing to the cockscomb, sarcoma and ankle, in order to reduce body temperature.
In addition, poultry can also use the following measures to escape heat: heat radiation: heat radiation will only occur when the body skin temperature is higher than the ambient temperature. Heat transfer: Heat conduction means that the temperature of the poultry's surface can be transferred directly to the environment, but because of the poor thermal conductivity of the air, the heat emitted in this way is negligible, even in a humid air environment. Heat convection: Heat convection occurs when the air that is in direct contact with the chicken is heated, expanded, and raised. After heat convection occurs, the temperature of the air that comes into contact with the birds will decrease. If the birds are kept in cages, the chickens only rely on evaporation as a natural heat dissipation mechanism to escape heat.
How Heat Stress in Transportation Causes Chickens to Die
When the birds are out of heat stress, it is their respiratory system that first reacts, followed by the cardiovascular system. Through the respiratory system, poultry can dissipate heat from the head. In addition, some of the bones of poultry are empty in the middle, including the iliac crest, keel, clavicle, skull and part of the vertebrae. The air system (lung and airbag) of these bones and chicken body is connected. Through the lungs and air bags, heat is continuously discharged from the inside of the body to the outside in the form of water vapor. When heat stress occurs, the blood in the chicken will be redistributed, most of the blood will be pumped to the head and neck, and the blood volume of the meat flutes and cocks will increase; at the same time, it will flow to the lungs, liver, kidneys and intestines. The blood is reduced, resulting in reduced blood flow back to the heart, causing chickens to lick and die.
In order to reduce these losses, it is necessary to create a comfortable environment for poultry when it is caught, transported and stored at the slaughterhouse. The cages that hold the chickens to be slaughtered should be placed near the exhaust fans in the house, with good ventilation, which will help to disperse the heat that the chickens evaporate. The cages should be inspected frequently. In particular, cages should be able to work properly and cannot be dropped into cages to avoid squeezing chickens and increase the degree of heat stress. After the chicken cages are loaded onto the truck, the car should be driven to the slaughterhouse as soon as possible. In addition, you can add another way to cool down, using layered bars. Layered strips are made of plastic or PVC material, each about 2-3 inches wide. According to the characteristics of the cage, layered strips are placed in the middle of every two to three rows of cages. If possible, each row should be laid so as to increase the air flow in the cages in the middle of the truck. If the sun shines during transportation, the cage on the top of the truck is shaded with shade cloth to reduce the risk of direct sunlight causing chickens to suffocate and death, but also conducive to air circulation.
Slaughterhouse measures
In case of high temperatures, it is recommended that poultry leave the farm wet with water, and after slaughterhouses are weighed, it is also recommended to get wet. After reaching the slaughterhouse, the chickens should be placed in a ventilated area and measures should be taken to control the air humidity. This is because it may increase the chance of fecal contamination in a high-humidity environment. When slaughterhouses are awaiting slaughter, some practical measures should also be taken to minimize the loss of poultry before slaughter. In order to ensure a comfortable environment for the poultry housed in the cage, it is advisable to build a 5-10cm-high transporting trough on the floor where the cages are to be transported. Place the coop on the floor and place a fan underneath to increase ventilation. At the same time, it is best to install a temperature and humidity meter in these places so that the temperature and relative humidity can be monitored at any time. When the temperature rises, it is best to install an exhaust fan in the chicken receiving area to exclude hot air.
If the above measures are put in place, the mortality rate before chicken slaughter can be reduced by 0.07% to 0.1%.
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