26/06/2026
How to Protect Your Day-Old Chicks During Winter ❄️🐥📐
Winter is officially here, and for poultry farmers, June and July bring a massive hidden threat: chilling.
Day-old chicks cannot regulate their own body temperature. For the first 14 days, they rely entirely on the micro-climate you create for them. If your brooder temperature drops even slightly during a cold night, chicks will huddle to stay warm. This leads to smothering, stunted immune systems, poor feed conversion, and sudden spikes in mortality.
Protecting your investment during winter isn't just about turning on a heater; it’s about precision environmental control. Here is how you engineer a winter-proof brooder:
1. Eliminate the Cold Corners (Go Round)
Never house day-old chicks in a square or rectangular space during winter. When they get cold, they crowd into corners, pile on top of each other, and suffocate. Use cardboard or flexible sheets to create a circular brooder ring. This keeps them moving smoothly and ensures equal access to the heat source.
2. Manage the Deep Litter Barrier
The concrete or dirt floor of your fowl run acts like a giant ice block during winter. Standard bedding won't cut it right now. Increase your wood shavings layer to a minimum depth of 10–15 cm. This thick layer acts as vital structural insulation, stopping the freezing ground temperature from pulling heat out of the chicks' feet.
3. Controlled Ventilation (Never Block All Fresh Air)
While you want to stop cold drafts from blowing directly on the birds, never seal up your poultry house completely. Trapping air means trapping toxic ammonia gas and moisture from droppings, which destroys their fragile respiratory systems. Keep curtains closed at the chick level to block drafts, but leave high-level roof ventilation open to allow air exchange.
4. Read the Chicks, Not Just the Thermostat
A thermometer tells you part of the story, but the birds' behavior tells you the truth:
° 🥶Too Cold: Chicks are huddled tightly directly under the heat source and chirping loudly.
° 🥵Too Hot: Chicks are pushed far away against the outer walls of the ring, panting with open wings.
° 🟢 Just Right: Distributed evenly throughout the ring, feeding, drinking, and content.
The Haven Way: No Guesswork, Just Systems
At Haven Agri-Solutions, we help you move away from reactive troubleshooting. We design proper brooding systems and structurally sound poultry environments that protect your birds from extreme climate dips.
From supplying premium, healthy chicks to helping you configure your winter heating layouts, we walk with you to protect your margins.
