Winter cold stress in poultry

The general health of chickens can depend on how much stress the birds are exposed to during their everyday life. Stress can directly affect chickens, but also have long-term implications … and it can even be critical.

Anything that goes beyond the comfort zone of the chicken makes them unhappy. Examples include introducing new birds into an existing flock, transporting chickens for long distances, vaccinating chickens, too much heat, too much cold, disease, feed shortage, water shortage, and sudden diet changes.

Causes of stress can be a result of bad management (e.g insufficient feeding/drinking equipment, overheating during brooding, insufficient heat during brooding, feed shortage e.t.c) or factors that are beyond the chicken farmer’s control (e.g Heat stress during a heat wave, transporting chicks from hatchery to the farm within the minimum permissible time, vaccination with live vaccines, handling of chickens during intramuscular/nose drop vaccination e.t.c).

Effects of stress on chickens:

- Reduced growth

- Loss of appetite

- Aggression and fights

- Reduced egg production

- Shedding of feathers

- Loss of weight

- Disease

- Prevention of stress caused by bad management:

This is only resolved by making sure you manage your chickens properly. This is within the control of the farmer.

Prevention of stress caused by factors beyond the farmer’s control:

Bupo Animal Health has over the years developed a product: Stress Care L that will assist birds to cope with stress.

What is Stress Care L?

This is a liquid stress product that is unique in the following ways (in addition to the unique combination of vitamins):

- Cost-effective

- Easy to dissolve in water. No sedimentation after mixing with water

- No water line blockages. There is no need to flush the water system after using Stress Care L,

- Gut/Digestive system stabilizer (due to the probiotic in the formulation).

- Immune system enhancer (due to the prebiotic in the formulation).

- Improves nutrient utilization (due to the phytase enzyme in the formulation and to additional enzymes produced by the probiotic).