6 Tips for Raising Chickens In Fall

Why Care for Chickens in Fall

What is the best way to care for chickens in autumn? Chickens that have been exposed to heat all summer will experience a reduced appetite, weak digestion, poor growth and development, reduced weight and reduced egg production. We all know that autumn and winter have very different temperatures.

Breeding equipment is required for large-scale breeding. This will provide a comfortable and warm environment for the chickens so they can lay more eggs. This article will provide you with advice on how to raise chickens fall-wise and what to watch out for.

6 Tips to Raising Chickens in Fall

1. Daily Feeding Management

• Morning and evening feeds should be monitored to ensure that the chickens are healthy. Individuals suffering from mental fatigue, abnormal stool or loss of appetite should be isolated.
• The most important tip for raising chickens in autumn is to strengthen nutrition. Adding multivitamins to chicken feed, and adding vitamin C in your water, can help reduce stress. If hens have a long time of egg-laying, they may become physically exhausted and stop laying. This is the time for feeding the chickens a high-quality diet, proper supplementation of animal protein feed, and setting up adequate water troughs to provide enough food and water.
• When raising chickens in autumn, it is possible to minimize the effects of climate change on them. The coop is smaller and the climate change is lower, which reduces the temperature difference between day- and night. Outdoor broilers are kept in the shade or under cover when it is too hot and indoors at night when it is cooler.
• The chicken coop is essential for chickens. Keep the chicken house’s air clean and odorless.

2. Prevent Disease

Autumn is characterized by extreme weather changes. It is often hot and cold at once, which can lead to an increase in the incidence of these diseases. Preventing disease is one of the most important aspects of raising chickens in autumn.

–Poultry Diarrhea

Clinical Symptoms

Although the chickens seemed to be in good spirits, their growth was slow and their crowns were pale. Some chickens had white streaks or mucus on their crowns. Feces contained undigested food and were yellowish. Some chickens looked depressed and had shrunken heads. Chickens can be paralysed by trembling, running, screaming, and sometimes even jumping. The incidence of chickens is about 1%. There are residual chickens every day with a mortality rate 0.5%.

Precaution

• Removal of chickens that are sick, isolation of chickens with residual illnesses, and removal of bedding.
• Both ventilation and insulation should be considered.
• Probiotics are recommended in any medication regimen. They can balance the anaerobic to aerobic bacteria and quickly replenish intestinal health.

–Avian Pasteurellosis (Avian Cholera)

Clinical Symptoms

• Acute: These chickens are susceptible to acute diseases. Some die in the coop, while others die in the laying boxes. It had been eating well the day before and seemed to be in good spirits. The chickens were discovered dead in their coop the next day. Some chickens died within hours. Depression, loneliness and loss of appetite. Diarrhea characterized by the discharge of dilute stool (gray or green). The disease causes dark purple cyanosis to the crown of the chicken, which can last for several hours or even 1-3 days.
• Chronic type: This is a condition that occurs during the later stages of acute epidemics, or when there are less severe strains. In sick chickens, it is common to experience lethargy and loss of appetite. Some chickens experience difficulty breathing and nasal discharge. The secretions also have an unusual odor. The chicken’s crown is pale, edematous and hardened. There may be cheese-like changes or even necrosis. The joints may be paralyzed, lame, or swollen.

Precaution

• Hygiene and epidemic control measures: These are important to ensure chickens have a strong resistance and perform well in epidemic prevention and disinfection. When chickens are raised in fall, it is important to disinfect and clean up the chicken coop, site, and any utensils that may have been contaminated with sick or dead chickens. After observing no signs of disease, chickens that have been introduced should be kept in isolation for a minimum of one month. They can then be raised together.
• Treatment and prevention of drug abuse: Chicken farms that are sick should be treated promptly with drugs. Penicillin, chlortetracycline and norfloxacin are some of the most commonly used drugs. You can use the water mixing method, the mixing technique and the one-by-1 administration method. For sick chickens who cannot eat or drink, it is recommended to use the intramuscular injection of penicillin (50,000 to 100,000 units per chicken twice daily for 2-3 days). Alternate medication is available to prevent bacteria developing drug resistance. However, it is important to pay attention to the dosage and duration of medication.
• Immunization: It is important to immunize chickens when raising them in fall. If there is not an epidemic of the disease in chicken farms then inoculation with bacteriocin may not be necessary. Vaccination is effective in areas where the disease is endemic. You can choose to use either inactivated or attenuated vaccines. Pasteurella vaccine can be used to immunize laying hens and breeders. However, the immunization time for Pasteurella vaccine is extremely short. It generally lasts no more than three months.

–Chicken Leukocytosis

Clinical Symptoms

Chickens that are sick have a depressed mood, closed eyes and diarrhea, as well as a loss of appetite. They also have feces that are green and often bloody. The egg production rate drops sharply and eggs are softer and thinner.

Precaution

• The epidemic season should see screens outside and inside the chicken coop treated with Malathion or other drugs to kill Culex mosquitoes, gnats, and cut off transmission.
• Sick chickens were treated with 0.3% sulfadimethoxypyrimethamine or 0.1% cotrimoxazole for 5-6 days.
• Mix sulfaquinoxaline with water or feed.
• For 10 days, add 3-5 mg vitamin K3 to each liter of water.

–Chicken Infectious Rhinitis

Clinical Symptoms

The most obvious signs are facial swelling, mucus and plasma discharge from the sinuses and nasal cavity, conjunctivitis and severe blindness. It can spread to the trachea or lungs. Respiratory problems. Anorexia, anorexia, lethargy and reluctance of movement are some of the symptoms. Young chickens are less likely to grow and laying hens have a lower egg production. The disease can last between 4 and 18 days. The mortality rate is around 20%.

Precaution

• Vaccination: Currently, the vaccines used in China are the inactivated A vaccine (or AC bivalent inactivated vaccination). The instruction will tell you how to get vaccinated.
• Feeding management: Improve feeding management in fall chickens, increase ventilation in the chicken coop and reduce ammonia levels in the environment. Implement an all-in, every-out feeding system, thoroughly disinfect empty coops, and then enter the new flock following cessation or production. These measures are essential for controlling and preventing chicken diseases.

3. Prevention of mosquito-borne diseases

The temperature drops as we move into autumn. This is when the mosquitoes and insects are most prevalent. To prevent mosquito breeding, it is important to maintain clean water in chicken farms. To kill mosquitoes, you can also smoke certain mosquito medications.

4. Intestinal Health Needs Attention

Chickens can become ill from intestinal disease due to the high humidity of autumn. If you want to increase the health of your chickens, add intestinal beneficial bacteria to the feed. This will help improve their digestion and absorption. As the chickens mature, their benefits will naturally increase.

5. Detection Of Antibodies

The best way to prevent disease is to detect antibodies. This is why it is important to test the chickens after they have been through the summer. It is crucial to determine the antibody potency and adjust the immunization method in order to maximize breeding benefits during the Newcastle disease season. The immune system of laying chickens can be affected by a decrease in egg production. This has a direct effect on egg production and performance. It also regulates intestinal flora and increases the chickens’ immunity.

6. When raising chickens in fall, pay attention to the weight of the laying hens

Chickens lose weight when the temperature is high in summer. Fall is the best time to gain weight. Chicken farmers will need to increase the amount of chicken feed they give their flocks to make up the summer weight loss. This is when laying hens increase their egg production and gain weight. You should monitor the flock’s growth at intervals of one to two weeks during egg laying and feed it according to the needs of other flocks.