If you are faced with the task of raising chickens, then you need to understand that they need special care. Creating a comfortable environment should be a priority, otherwise it is unlikely to grow a healthy bird.
Growing chickens under a brood makes it easier to work since there is no need for additional heating. Chicks also learn from their mother how to find food and water. However, nothing is impossible, and to grow healthy chickens is quite possible without a brood hen.
What lamps are used for raising chickens?
For installation in an aviary with chickens, you can use different types of lighting:
The main advantage is profitability. The main drawback is the frequent flickering, which is invisible to the human eye, but the vision of the chickens is much sharper. Because of this, light can irritate birds.
They are also economical in terms of energy consumption and are free from flicker. In addition, such lighting has a long service life, has the proper level of protection, emits light of a different spectrum. The main disadvantage is the high cost, so not everyone can afford this lighting.
They give both infrared and ultraviolet radiation. They are a good option for installation in aviaries with chickens.
They help to save on electricity, have an acceptable cost. According to poultry farmers, this type of heating is most suitable for birds.
To grow chickens, heaters also use heating pads, water heating, a stove, but infrared lamps are invariably the most popular, which help solve the problem of lighting and heating at the same time.
What is an infrared lamp?
IR lamp is the highest quality heat emitter. It gained great popularity not only for this reason - high productivity can be achieved with minimal energy consumption, which is especially important when growing a large number of birds.
Terms of use
In order for chicks to be safe, it is necessary to adhere to the rules of operation. Therefore, a lamp for birds should be used in conjunction with lamps equipped with ceramic lampholders. This will help to prevent moisture and flammable straw from getting into them.
Principle of operation
An infrared lamp for heating chickens functions very simply - in the process of its action, electricity is converted into infrared radiation. The design is quite safe, since thick glass is used in the production of glass flasks, which has protection against moisture and shock. A special reflective material is applied to the inner surface of the glass, which helps to focus and direct light and heat to the chickens. Lamps must be installed at a height of 30-40 cm from the floor.
A heating lamp for chickens with a power of 250 W is able to illuminate and heat a room of 10 square meters. m. This is quite enough for growing birds. However, it makes more sense to install several lamps in the chicken brooder in case one of them burns out. Otherwise, if you are not near, the chickens will remain without heating, and this could turn into a tragedy for them and for you, respectively.
In order for the chickens to grow, two factors must be observed: the organization of a confined space and the thermal / light regime, since they are highly sensitive to temperature extremes.
Chick behavior
During bird watching, you can find out whether they live comfortably in a brooder. If chickens run around the room, then there is nothing to worry about - they are warm and comfortable. If they are knocked together, focus near the lamp, then they are cold. Then you need to install an IR lamp lower or increase heating.
When the room is too hot, the chickens will behave quietly, breathe hard and diverge around. It is necessary to reduce the heating or install a lamp higher.
You can breed broilers and chickens of egg breeds. The latter are much more mobile, so that they do not waste their energy, you can build fences. It is also necessary to install a drinker and feeder.
What are the benefits of a chicken heating lamp?
- She It is able to maintain an optimal moisture level in a brooder with chickens due to the fact that excess moisture particles in the air evaporate when heated.
- Infrared light emits a calm and soft light that does not irritate chickens and reduces their aggressiveness.
- Helps to improve the appetite of birds and the absorption of feed.
- IR lamp has a beneficial effect on the immune system of chickens.
- Such a heater has a high efficiency.
- Electricity costs are 4 times less compared to other types of heaters.
- IR radiation dries the litter.
It is worth remembering that it is acceptable to heat the chickens with an infrared lamp, but not adult birds.
How to organize a brooder?
The place where the chickens will live is called a brooder. Daily chickens are immediately placed in it, the care of which in the first days of life is most important.
Chickens are kept in the aviary for 3 weeks, after which they will need to be transplanted into a brooder with feeders around the perimeter.
In the early days, newspapers or cloth should be placed on the brooder floor so that the chickens are warm and do not blow from below. It is also necessary that the heating lamp for chickens exudes heat of 30 degrees, this will contribute to the dissolution of the yolk in their stomachs. The growth and health of birds will depend on this. Such conditions must be maintained for 5 days. Then on the 10th day the temperature should be at 26 degrees, then every week it is necessary to reduce it by 3 degrees. To quickly navigate the heat level, it is worth installing a thermometer.
A broiler for chickens can be made with the following parameters: length 70 cm, width 50, height 40. It is better to choose plywood as the material for the side walls, roofing iron for the bottom.
While the chickens are growing, they are kept at 100-200 units in the aviary, after they reach three weeks of age they are seated 50 individuals in new aviaries.
Light mode
If you have one-day-old chickens, grooming and proper light conditions will have a big impact on their productivity.
Experienced poultry farmers raise chickens in windowless enclosures with constantly decreasing daylight hours. By reducing the weekly daylight hours by 30 minutes, puberty of the chickens can be delayed, however, this will also contribute to good growth, the end of molting before laying, which will help to get larger eggs with a strong shell.
On the farm, such a regime is only appropriate for chickens taken for rearing in June, when daylight hours last 15-16 hours. If chickens of April-May brood are raised, then they need to be kept in an enclosure with curtained windows and walk after sunrise. Long daylight hours provokes premature egg laying, and this leads to decreased productivity.
Thus, it is worth paying attention to every little thing in order to succeed in raising chickens. It is worth remembering that the heating lamp for chickens is of particular importance in poultry farming. In addition, infrared radiation is used in raising livestock.