With summer on its way, it is important to start preparing for heat-related issues regarding the transport of day-old chicks. Many of these issues can be prevented with good preparation and thoughtful execution. In this article we offer five tips to achieve optimal chick transport in summer.
Did you know that truck drivers have an important role in day-old chick transport? And, that they can help you to improve the transport performance of your hatchery? Good drivers take care of their truck and the live animals on board, which improves farm delivery performance.
One of the main challenges in live chicken transport is maintaining the ideal climate. With the winter ahead of us, it’s time to prepare for cold weather conditions. In some climates the temperatures can go as low as -35 degrees celsius. To prepare you for these circumstances, we’ve organized a free checklist of five vital elements of live chicken handling and transport during winter.
During transit, birds can experience a higher level of stress resulting in serious welfare issues. To prevent these complications it is important to understand the matter deeply and act accordingly by utilizing the proper transport equipment.
Throughout the poultry production chain there are multiple phases influencing chick quality or poultry performance. Parent stock management, egg transport and storage, incubation, chicken hatchery management and day-old chick transport determine the performance on the farm. For this article we focus on the effect of transport on poultry performance.
A poultry transport box or crate is the smallest logistical unit for safe poultry transportation and storage. The most common varieties to transport day-old chicks are cardboard chick boxes and plastic poultry crates. Hatching eggs can be transported by pulp trays and setter trays.
The goal of ventilation inside a poultry truck is to distribute the air evenly, to keep the temperature difference to a bare minimum. The created airflow will allow the excess CO₂ to be removed. When humidity levels are too high, they can be decreased through ventilation as well. In creating a stable well-climatized environment for transporting hatching eggs, day-old chicks or live chickens, ventilation is a vital component.
After chicks have been transported incorrectly, they can start to show signs of a decrease in growth and performance. In this article we dive deeper into the origin of this problem and the relation between poultry transport and chick growth.