What are the symptoms of chicken stress reaction? How to deal with the symptoms?

People are prone to stress disorders in extreme environments, and humans and animals are also common at this point, mainly reflected in the stress response of chickens. What are the symptoms of chicken stress? How should symptoms be treated?

What are the symptoms of chicken stress?

When chickens are exposed to extreme temperature, unreasonable illumination or sudden change of illumination time and intensity, high feeding density, poor ventilation, damp accumulation of chicken manure, abnormal sound, sudden sound and other repeated noises, stress reactions will occur in chickens, usually manifested as reduced sperm production of cocks, delayed sexual maturity of hens, significant decline in fertilization rate, significant decline in egg production rate, and even damage to cardiovascular system. Respiratory tract diseases caused by infection and ascites disease; in addition, but also easy to lead to staphylococcal disease, chest, legs, claws trauma, dysplasia and anal pecking and other vices.

How to deal with chicken stress response

1. Create a suitable living environment

Do a good job in summer heatstroke prevention and winter cold protection, try to keep the best temperature of the chicken house; keep the relative humidity of the chicken house at 50%~60%; keep the chicken house well ventilated and the air in the house fresh; remove the feces frequently to prevent the ammonia content from exceeding the standard; keep the house quiet to prevent sudden noise or excessive noise; Keep proper feeding density, cage area of each chicken shall not be less than 0.05 square meters, laying hens shall be kept on the ground or on the net at a density of 6~8 chickens per square meter.

2. Scientific breeding and strengthening management

According to different growth and development stages of chickens, scientific and reasonable feed formula shall be formulated, complete compound feed shall be fed to meet their nutritional needs, and mouldy and deteriorated feed shall be avoided; feeding personnel shall be fixed, feeding shall be fixed and quantitative, and drinking water shall be supplied adequately; correct lighting system shall be implemented, and 16 hours of light shall be implemented during laying period, and the light intensity shall be 3~5 watts per square meter; chicken catching, beak cutting, epidemic prevention and group transfer shall be carried out at night, and the work shall be handled gently as far as possible.

3. Add feeding anti-stress additive

Vitamins: adding vitamin C to heat stressed chickens at a ratio of 0.02% to 0.04% can restore the concentration of sodium, protein and cortisol in plasma to normal, helping chickens maintain normal body temperature under heat stress conditions.

Trace elements: stress can cause chickens to be relatively deficient in certain trace elements or increase their requirements. Appropriate supplementation of zinc, iodine, chromium and other elements can alleviate stress response.

Electrolyte: chicken heat stress breathing speed up, exhaled a lot of CO2, HCO3-content in the blood decreased, easy to occur respiratory alkalis. Adding NaHCO3, KHCO3, NaCl, KCl and other electrolytes to drinking water or feed can maintain acid-base balance and relieve heat stress.

Drugs: tranquilizer has a strong sedative effect, in the chicken group, beak, vaccination 1~1.5 hours before the addition of chlorpromazine 30 mg per kilogram of feed, can reduce the chicken group to stress response.

Chinese herbal medicine: Some natural Chinese herbal medicines have anti-stress effect. Feeding anti-shock sedatives, such as Uncaria, Pueraria lobata, fumaric acid, jujube kernel, etc., can make chickens avoid disturbance and keep quiet; feeding Chinese herbal medicines that clear away heat and purge fire, clear away heat and dry dampness, clear away heat and cool blood, such as gypsum, scutellaria baicalensis, Bupleurum, lotus leaf, Isatis root, dandelion, rehmannia root, Pulsatilla chinensis, etc., can relieve heat stress; feeding Chinese herbal medicines that stimulate appetite and digestion, such as hawthorn, malt, medicated leaven, etc., can maintain normal appetite and improve body resistance.

Only when the stress response of chickens is handled correctly can the growth and development of chickens and the laying rate be guaranteed, and the loss caused by stress be reduced to the minimum.