Prolonged Heat Affecting Livestock | RJR News

By Kimone Witter  

The Rural Agriculture Development Authority (RADA) says the prolonged heat and dry conditions are taking a toll on the country’s livestock.

The poultry industry, in particular, is feeling the strain, with farmers reporting a significant decline in egg production. 

“A lot of farmers have been indicating that they are losing birds, and you’ll see a drop in egg production, so those are the two major things,” said RADA Livestock Specialist Maxine Brown, who was speaking Thursday on TVJ’s Smile Jamaica. 

For farmers who may be unfamiliar with the signs of heat stress, the RADA specialist outlined some of the key behaviours to look for in livestock.

“If you understand their behaviour, you will get to know when they are under stress. So if you go in your poultry house and you see them panting more than the norm, so all the birds are panting and they are moving their wings away from their body, it means that they are feeling hot and they are under stress, and so these are the little…cues that you can look for to say the animals are hot.” 

She continued, “If it is that you have the younger chicks, like the baby chicks, you may be seeing them moving away, because normally you have the brooding period and you have a brooding lamp that provides heat. And so you can just imagine if they are extra hot they are going to be moving away from the lamp. So you have to observe the animals, some of the things that they do, to recognise that, yes, you need to do some interventions now to make them cool.”

Livestock farmers are encouraged to reach out to RADA to consult with officers for technical advice.