Closing up at night without suffocating the flock

Eight o’clock in the evening, the rain drums on the corrugated iron. You lower all the curtains, pulled tightly closed.

Your chickens are sheltered from the wind and rain. You’ll sleep peacefully.

The next day, you lift the curtain at the entrance. Heavy, pungent air hits you in the face.

You protected them from the cold, that’s true. But you also shut them in with their own breath.

All night, every chicken breathes. It releases carbon dioxide and water vapour.

Of the water it drinks, seventy to eighty per cent comes out in the droppings or through its breath.

And the litter gives off ammonia. When the air stops moving, all three build up.

You can’t smell carbon dioxide. It doesn’t sting. A breeder sets its limit at three thousand parts per million.

Above that, the birds move less and eat less. Their growth slows down.

Above three thousand five hundred, a broiler guide says it causes ascites, a condition in which the abdomen fills with fluid.

Ammonia, meanwhile, damages the lungs before the nose detects it. And with the curtains closed, it has no way out.

And the night-time water vapour settles on the litter. Wet litter means even more ammonia tomorrow.

So a little fresh air is needed from the very first day. But never let a draught blow across the birds’ backs.

The trap is the first week. We seal everything up for the chicks, and the gases build up.

I advise you to adjust things from the bottom up. Keep the bottom of the curtains closed, where they sleep.

At the top, leave a strip open along the entire length. Fresh air comes in above them, not across their backs.

The roof overhang protects this opening from the rain. If the wind is strong, open the sheltered side instead.

If the chicks all huddle on the same side, a draught is driving them away. Close that side.

Every morning, check how the night went as soon as you reach the door. Judge the smell by the first breath. After that, your nose gets used to it.

Drops under the curtains and the corrugated iron? That’s the night-time vapour that couldn’t get out.

Birds struggling to breathe when it’s cool are a warning sign. Ventilate, and if it continues, call your veterinarian.

Just one of these signs is enough. That same evening, open the top of the curtains a little more.

And when you open up in the morning, what greets you at the door?

Send us a photo of your poultry house closed up for the night. WhatsApp, 05 44 83 27 79, for your information. And receive our flock record book, free of charge.

The 07 07 72 78 67 takes your chick orders. Subscribe, and next we’ll open up the water line, from the inside.

It is in Agnibilékrou that we hatch your chicks. With Nextekci, every customer is a satisfied poultry farmer.