Showing posts with label Poultry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poultry. Show all posts

Thursday, August 12, 2021

Drinker alignment as a part of leak proof strategy

 Keeping things in alignment counts to a dry floor

click to see larger drawing

 

 

I was recently in a house when I noticed wet spots under the nipple lines.  The lines were twisted in one section causing them to drip.  As birds hit and roosted on the lines the nipples were more prone to dripping.  This can lead to foot problems as well as provide moisture for fly breeding.  The ball seal in a nipple drinker depends on gravity.  Without proper alignment the seal can be broken, and the drinker could leak.  Keeping the nipple drinkers properly adjusted to the height of the bird, at proper pressure and in vertical position will help keep nipple drinkers from dripping.

Saturday, July 25, 2020

A Brave New World in a Pandemic


Coping with covid

Photo: CDC
For those in agriculture, nothing has stopped during the pandemic.  Food is life and for most, this means that Agriculture continues to operate daily to feed the masses.  In normal operations on poultry farms large and small, biosecurity has been and will be a normal practice.  What the pandemic has taught everyone else is what we need to do in order to protect ourselves from disease.  Operational biosecurity now needs to be practiced by everyone if everyone is to be protected.  Isolation (distancing), physical barriers (PPE), and sanitation routines (hand washing, surface cleaning) that were just germane to farms is now being practiced by all.  Until we have a working vaccine in place, all of us should strongly consider using sound biosecurity to keep themselves and those they love safe.  How well we practice these steps will show in the number of positive cases seen.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Working with Birds in Cold Weather


Keep an eye out for ICE

As much of the nation is feeling cold, careful attention should be made to protect all animals that may be exposed.  With poultry, this means that feet, combs and wattles of birds are sensitive to cold and can become frostbitten.  When this occurs, the tissue will die and fall away.  I commercial settings inlets must be properly adjusted so that air shoots towards the warm part of the room to temper and not directly on the birds.  In smaller settings, a heat lamp in the corner should be able to provide relief to birds who will adjust their temp by moving closer to the heat source.  These lamps should be hung by a metallic method such as cable or chain.  Avoid using rope to prevent failure and a bedding fire.  Fluffed long straw and hay can also offer a buffer to the cold in chicken coops and barns.  Be sure that water remains liquid to keep the birds properly hydrated.  Any water restriction during the day will restrict feed intake, so water needs to remain free-flowing.