Since the beginning of April, Rajshahi, along with the rest of the nation, has been suffering from a severe heat wave. The excessive heat has led to significant discomfort in public life. Animals are the same in this regard. Every day, a large number of birds at poultry farms in Rajshahi pass away from heatstroke.
Huge losses have been incurred by marginal farmers. During this time, the production of eggs and chickens dropped by as much as 10%. The producers worry that there may be a problem in the supply of chicken and eggs in the upcoming days if this scenario persists. The Rajshahi Poultry Association estimates that the district is home to around 3,000 farms. Additionally, the government claims that there are 8,000 farms.
Damage has forced the closure of poultry farms. The organisation worries that this firm will fail if this keeps up. About a thousand hens are owned by farmer Roknuzzaman in the Godagari upazila's Prematali district. He began keeping grill chickens on his roof as a pastime. Every day, four to five of his birds pass away from heatstroke. He lost an hour's worth of power, yet just one or two of his hens perished.
To provide the hens with oxygen, he had no choice except to rent a generator. "The chickens use air separately," stated the farmer. Aside from this, the chicken's weight has dropped because of the heat. The body weight and development of chickens are relatively sluggish.
Five farms are owned by Nazrul Islam, a farmer in Ashraf Mor, Parila Union, Paba Upazila, Rajshahi. Five farms house around 20,000 white-layer hens. There are four thousand hens on each farm. Twelve hens on a farm perished during the past month. In the previous several days, about fifty hens on his five farms perished.
He said, "The chickens died due to excessive heat," there will be fewer chicken fatalities if there are less severe burns, but the pace at which hens are dying is not yet concerning. Hands are placed on the head if more hens perish, all of my hens have consistently produced eggs.
Enamul Haque, general secretary of the Rajshahi Poultry Association, stated: "Farm chicken weight has decreased in this intense heat." Consumption of meat has decreased from 95% to 60%. A grill chicken weighs more than two kilogrammes after forty days. It weighs less than 1 kilogramme now. Various pointers have been provided to farmers on how to properly care for hens.
Poultry producers have been instructed by the Rajshahi District Animal Husbandry Department to adopt a number of steps to counteract the heat wave.
These include making sure the shed has enough ventilation, not overcrowding the chickens, not putting vitamin supplements in the water, using syrup in the afternoon that contains lemon and sugarcane molasses, sprinkling water on the chickens' bodies, storing wet jute bags on the shed's roof, frequently pouring water and not feeding the birds at noon.
Dr. Md. Akhtar Hossain of Zulfikar, the Rajshahi District Livestock Officer, stated: "Our staff visit the farms on a daily basis in every upazila.
delivering counsel on a regular basis. At this temperature, saving hens has become challenging, but attempts are being done. Temperatures as high as 35 degrees are not harmful to grill chickens. After then, I'm unable to. They can no longer withstand this temperature because of the feathers on chickens.
Additionally, he stated that 25 to 27 degrees Celsius is the best temperature for producing grill chickens. Numerous people have aired the fan. It is very needed this breeze in the afternoon.
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