The first ten days of the bird’s life are the most critical and are the foundation for success. When you get it wrong, uniformity, growth, and productivity suffer.
As chicks cannot regulate their body temperature well, providing them with the correct environment is key to getting them off to a good start. The ideal floor temperature to maintain the optimal chick body temperature (40.0-40.5 ํC) at placement is 28-30 ํC, with a relative humidity of 60-70%. However, making the correct decisions on the comfort (temperature) of the chicks can only be made if the relationship between temperature and relative humidity and the effect of this on chick temperature is understood. For example, if the house temperature remains the same and the humidity increases, the chick’s effective temperature increases and so the chick will feel hotter. However, if the house temperature remains the same, and the humidity decreases, the chick’s effective temperature decreases and so the chick will feel colder.
Hot or cold, temperature is easier to control than humidity, so adjust temperature first. Carefully monitor the effects of altering temperature on the chick’s behavior, what you see – chick distribution, and how many birds are feeding, drinking, and resting, what is their respiration like and litter quality, and hear - vocalization. This is because, how warm the chicks feel (effective temperature), may not be the same as the temperature indicated by the house temperature sensor. Don’t rely 100% on house control units, measure the actual house temperature as well, and most importantly look at chick behavior to determine the adequacy of the environment.
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