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By Dr. Ibne Ali, IMN PyrophosUpdated October 20266 min read

Winter Management in Poultry Farming – How to Manage a Broiler Shed in the Cold Season — The Perfect Formula for Ventilation, Temperature, Litter and Nutrition

As soon as winter arrives, most poultry farmers get worried about the same thing —

“the chicks are catching cold, they are eating less feed, growth has stopped and the shed smells.”

The real point is that the biggest challenge of winter poultry farming is not the cold, it is wrong management. In winter, birds do not need only warmth; they need clean air + dry litter + comfortable humidity. If you balance all four, the profit from broiler farming stays at its maximum even in winter.

The most common mistake in winter is that farmers switch on the heater and shut off ventilation. On the surface it looks like the heater is making heat and switching off the fans is saving it. But in reality, shutting off ventilation makes CO₂ and ammonia (NH₃) start rising inside the shed, humidity goes up, and the litter becomes wet. For a while things seem fine, then the birds start huddling, they have trouble breathing, feed intake drops, growth slows, and then infections begin, such as Mycoplasma and E. coli, followed by CRD and CCRD.

That is why the first rule of winter broiler management is — the heater and ventilation must run together. The idea that running fans will bring in cold is wrong. No, friends, if you switch the fans off completely, the birds will be hit not by the air but by gas and moisture. Minimum ventilation must run 24×7, no matter how severe the cold is.

Remember that with closed curtains the first 10 days pass without trouble because the birds’ requirements are not that high, but after that conditions start getting worse under poor ventilation. For the first 10 days a bird cannot regulate its own body temperature, so closing the farm to build up heat does not do much harm. But after that the bird’s oxygen requirement starts to rise and it also starts regulating its body temperature, so the farmer should take advantage of this, meaning ventilation should be started little by little, for example by lifting the curtains from the top.

An important point – the cold floor

In winter, chicks feel the cold first not from the air but from the cold floor. You must have felt it yourself: if you do not wear socks, the cold does not stop no matter how many sweaters and jackets you wear on top. The same happens with chickens.

Many people are happy just looking at the air temperature — “the shed temperature is 32 degrees, everything must be fine” — but if the floor is cold, the chicks’ behaviour goes bad instantly. In proper brooding, the floor has to be pre-heated to 28–30°C, starting 24–36 hours in advance. When the floor is warm, the birds spread out evenly, eating and drinking are normal, and growth moves at rocket speed right from the start.

Humidity also becomes the biggest villain in winter. As soon as humidity goes above 70%, the litter becomes wet → ammonia rises → respiratory infection → feed intake drops. When the farm is completely closed, humidity rises very fast, as you can see in this video.

The right humidity in winter is 50–65%. If RH is rising, increase the fans’ ON time slightly, but do not switch off the heater. This “drying ventilation” is a golden trick in winter — the bird stays warm and the shed stays dry.

Respiratory problems, CRD, E. coli, loose droppings, “yellow bird”, leg weakness, lameness, rattling breath — in winter all of these mostly happen because of ventilation + humidity + ammonia. They cannot be controlled with medicines alone until the environment is corrected. But giving the right nutritional support and supplements keeps the birds’ immunity and digestion strong, and you see full growth.

This medicine schedule has been made keeping winter problems in mind. If you use it, you get rid of early infections and growth challenges to a large extent. If used along with following the management described here, this medicine schedule helps improve mortality by 3-4% and FCR by 0.05 to 0.1.

Winter Management in Poultry Farming
Winter Management in Poultry Farming

In this medicine schedule, giving Easy Brood, Alcaeu, VitADEN, Pyrocal-B, Nexamune, Grotek, Nephrowin, Hepasol, Virocon Septima, Sel E Boost, Ascitox is the safest and most practical combination for winter. It makes the birds tough, keeps feed intake steady and gives more growth.

The winter season has one more problem — the habit of keeping the shed closed. But a poultry house is not a closed box; it is a science lab of ventilation + temperature + humidity. The shed should not be locked up; there should be controlled air circulation. Keep the inlets open less at the bottom and more at the top so that the air does not hit the chicks’ heads directly but mixes near the ceiling and then comes down.

If you see the birds sticking right under the heater, it means the floor is cold. If the birds are gathered in one corner of the shed, the air flow is wrong. If the birds are sitting evenly all around, the system is running perfectly. The bird’s behaviour is the biggest sensor — the thermometer and hygrometer come after that.

Ascitox Q10 IMN Pyrophos

Ascites and SDS in broilers

Ascitox Q10

CoQ10 with blood buffers, antioxidants, herbal diuretics, sodium ascorbate and selenite for prevention and control of metabolic ascites and sudden death syndrome in fast-growing broilers, especially in winter.

Dose: Prevention: 1 g per 100 chicks on day 2–4 at night (hold feed 2–3 h), 7 g per 100 birds on day 13–15, 20 g per 100 birds on day 23–25, in the evening or at night. Control: 1 g per 3 kg body weight or 3–4 g per litre, holding feed 6–8 h at night for 2–3 days.

1 kg ₹698MRP ₹1,080

Simply put:

Remipro IMN Pyrophos

Gut health · bestseller

Remipro

Probiotics, prebiotics (MOS) and Saccharomyces with betaine, methionine and vitamin C. Restores normal gut flora, reduces loose droppings, improves digestion and FCR, helps in coccidiosis recovery and corrects brown/coffee coloured droppings.

Dose: 1 g per 8 kg body weight or 1 g per litre of water for routine gut health; 1 g per 5 kg body weight or 2 g per litre during loose droppings and infections; 1 g per 100 chicks in brooding.

500 g ₹626MRP ₹950

✔ Ventilation shut → ammonia up → infection up → mortality up → profit down

✔ Ventilation running → fresh air → dry litter → strong immunity → fast growth → high profit

So the real winter formula is not rocket science: Warm floor + controlled ventilation + dry litter + stable humidity + smart supplements = winter profit guaranteed

If the birds are comfortable, they will eat, put on weight and reach market weight sooner. And when the bird grows fast, FCR falls, feed is saved and profit rises — that is the whole target of broiler farming.

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Problem in your flock? Send photos of the birds and droppings on WhatsApp for a first opinion from Dr. Ibne Ali.

WhatsApp: 98715 84101
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