How to keep livestock and poultry cool

(Baonghean.vn) -In the summer, the weather is hot and sunny, with temperatures often rising to 36 - 38 degrees Celsius, which is disadvantageous for livestock farming, especially concentrated, high-density farming.Specifically, livestock herds have reduced resistance, many types of diseases are at risk of outbreak.

In addition to the risk of disease outbreaks due to hot weather, poor appetite and a strong decline in resistance also reduce meat and egg productivity of livestock and poultry. Diseases such as diarrhea, heatstroke, sunstroke, Ecoli, paratyphoid, pneumonia, cholera, septicemia, coccidiosis, etc. are easily detected and spread, causing great economic losses to livestock farmers.

To minimize damage caused by heat, farmers need to pay attention to implementing the following measures.

For pigs

- Barn: Should face southeast, roof with tiles or palm leaves; plant trees around to create shade.

Ventilation fan: The ventilation fan should be placed horizontally, facing the direction of the wind, and at the same height as the animal's back; if the fan is hung from the roof and blows air downwards, the heat-resistant effect will be low.

Rain and humidification system: When spraying rain, attention should be paid to increasing ventilation and drainage around to avoid increasing humidity in the barn.

- Reduce the temperature of the barn by cleaning the barn regularly; collect manure in the manure pit (to reduce the heat caused by rising manure).

- Bathe pigs 1-2 times/day; give pigs enough clean, cool water, supplement B-complex, Vitamin C, electrolytes, digestive enzymes... to cool down and increase resistance.

- Implement biosecurity measures in livestock farming, periodically disinfect barns and livestock areas.

For buffalo, cows, goats

- Trees should be planted around the barn to create shade. The barn should have a sunshade. Reduce the temperature of the barn by cleaning the barn, collecting manure, and composting.

- Grazing early in the morning or late in the afternoon: In the morning, let the buffaloes and cows graze early (6am out, 8am back); in the afternoon, let them graze late (4am out, 6am back); should tie the buffaloes and cows in places with shady trees for them to rest.

- Stocking density for beef cattle: 5 - 6 m2/head, goats 1.8 - 2 m2/head.

- Give them enough clean, cool water to drink, add Vitamin C to cool down; feed them enough food, from 30 - 35 kg of green roughage, 0.5 - 1 kg of concentrated food, 20 - 30 grams of salt to ensure health, increase resistance to heat and disease.

- You should bathe buffaloes and cows 1-2 times a day to reduce body heat.

For poultry

- Closed barn: Due to the cooling system, when running at maximum capacity according to design, the barn temperature can be reduced by 5 - 7 degrees Celsius compared to the outside temperature, so poultry is less affected by the ambient temperature. Pay attention to the backup power supply system.

- Ventilated barn: Should have a sunshade around it. On hot days, water can be sprayed on the barn roof to reduce the heat; use black nets or plant trees and climbing plants to cover the roof and direct sunlight.

- Feed the chickens early, after eating hang the feeder up to ventilate the coop to reduce the coop temperature.

- Reduce the thickness of the pad (if it is too thick, the pad generates a lot of heat).

- Reducing stocking density also helps reduce the temperature of the barn: For chicks: brood 50 - 60 chicks/m2; for 0.5 - 1 kg chickens: keep 8 - 12 chicks/m2; for 2 - 3 kg chickens: keep 3 - 5 chicks/m2.

- Increase poultry's resistance by giving them Bcomplex, Vitamin C, electrolytes, digestive enzymes... feed them good quality feed, prevent poultry diseases with vaccines: Newcastle, flu, duck cholera, septicemia... to increase immunity against dangerous diseases.

When detecting an animal showing abnormal signs (due to sunstroke, heatstroke, or high density transport), it is necessary to immediately apply cooling measures to limit risks by isolating the animal to a shady place, creating ventilation in the confinement area, and immediately using a fan cooling system.

For cows and sows, you can use ice to cool the head and face area, and give the animal electrolyte water to drink. Only when it is stable can the animal be brought back to the herd.

Farmers need to implement the above cooling measures synchronously to ensure the health of livestock and poultry during hot days.

Ngoc Anh

(Synthetic)