Environmental control of laying hens

The environmental management of layer chicken farming involves both internal and external factors within the poultry house. Internally, several key elements must be carefully controlled to ensure optimal health, productivity, and egg-laying performance. **Indoor Environmental Control** **Ventilation** Proper air circulation is essential in any chicken house, regardless of its size or the number of birds. In high-density environments, poor ventilation can lead to dangerous levels of ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide, which can harm the chickens' respiratory systems and reduce egg production. To maintain good air quality, windows should be placed at the bottom, middle, and roof level with exhaust vents. During summer, all windows and vents should be open, while in winter, only a few should remain open to prevent cold drafts. An exhaust fan can also be installed to help remove stale air during colder months, ensuring that temperature remains stable and disease risk is minimized. **Lighting** Lighting plays a crucial role in stimulating egg production. From 20 weeks of age, artificial lighting should be introduced gradually, increasing by 30 minutes each week until reaching 16 hours per day. This helps maintain consistent laying patterns. The best time for additional lighting is just before dawn. Lighting should be around 3–5 watts per square meter, with lamps positioned about 2 meters above the floor and spaced 3 meters apart to ensure even light distribution. Using lampshades can help focus the light and reduce glare. **Feeding** Laying hens are typically fed once or twice daily, depending on the farm’s setup. A single feeding in the afternoon or two feedings at 9 AM and 3 PM is common. Each hen should receive approximately 100–120 grams of feed per day, adjusting based on weight changes. It's important to allow some time each day where the feed trough is empty to stimulate appetite and prevent spoilage. This practice also reduces the risk of chickens developing picky eating habits. **Drinking Water** Water is vital for the health and productivity of hens. A lack of water can have more severe consequences than a lack of food. Hens need between 220–380 ml of clean, fresh water daily. Poor water quality can lead to reduced egg production and lower egg weights. It's recommended to provide continuous access to running water whenever possible, ensuring it meets drinking standards. **Temperature** The ideal temperature range for laying hens is 18–23°C. High temperatures can cause heat stress, while low temperatures may slow down egg production. In summer, improving ventilation and using misting systems can help cool the environment. In winter, insulating the house and using straw or corn stalks as wind barriers can help maintain warmth. **Humidity** The ideal humidity level is 60–70%. Too much moisture can increase bacterial growth and cause respiratory issues, while too little can lead to dehydration and feather problems. Proper ventilation and the use of lime blocks can help regulate humidity levels effectively. **Chick Selection** Selecting hens at a 50% laying rate ensures only the healthiest birds are kept. Birds with poor vitality, dull feathers, or excess fat should be culled to improve overall flock performance and reduce disease spread. **Egg Collection** Timely egg collection is essential to encourage continuous laying. Eggs are usually laid within 3–4 hours after sunrise, with another batch appearing in the afternoon. Collecting eggs two to three times a day helps maintain an eggless environment, promoting higher egg production. **Outdoor Environmental Control** Maintaining a clean and healthy outdoor environment is equally important. Regular disinfection using solutions like 2% sodium hydroxide and setting up disinfection pools at entrances help prevent disease transmission. Removing weeds and controlling pests such as rats and birds is critical. Planting trees, vines, and grass outside the house improves air quality, reduces dust, and provides natural cooling. Finally, minimizing stressors such as noise and human disturbance ensures a calm environment, which is essential for maintaining high productivity and reducing disease outbreaks.

Profilometer

A profilometer is a precision equipment used to measure the shape of various mechanical parts' lines and cross-sectional contours. The instrument workbench adopts high-precision horizontal air floating track and rolling vertical track, with high movement accuracy, good stability, and long service life; High measurement efficiency, simple operation, suitable for use in workshop inspection stations or measurement rooms.

Roughness Profile Measuring Needle 2

The instrument workbench adopts high-precision horizontal air floating track and rolling vertical track, with high movement accuracy, good stability, and long service life; High measurement efficiency, convenient card installation, simple operation, suitable for use in workshop inspection stations or measurement rooms. This instrument can further develop software according to the needs of users, meet their measurement shape requirements more widely, and is equipped with various equipment components for users to choose and use according to their own requirements.

A Profilometer is a precision equipment used to measure the shape of various mechanical parts' lines and cross-sectional contours. In the bearing industry, it is possible to measure the contour shapes of various rolling elements and raceways, such as protrusion, contact angle, surface curvature radius, and reference part angle. In the mechanical industry, it is possible to measure the straightness, line profile, parallelism, inclination, and angle of various parts. Especially suitable for measuring the appearance of pistons in automobiles, tractors, and motorcycles. The production instruments of this research run enterprise are controlled by microcomputers, which automatically achieve measurement cycles, eliminate installation errors, directly display the shape and parameters of the measured parts, and can print graphics and data for product quality testing and process analysis.

Profile projector,Roughness Tester, Thickness Tester, Profilometer

Zhejiang dexun instrument technology co., ltd , https://www.dexunmeasuring.com