Chickens dying, egg production drops due to extreme heat 

People are experiencing the blistering heat as severe heat wave is sweeping over Pabna district for last 10 days.  

Normal life is being disrupted due to the extreme heat across the district. No one is going out of the house without much need in the ongoing heatwave. 

The maximum temperatures were recorded at above 40 degree Celsius in Pabna in last five days.  

In the midst of the scorching heatwave, the district’s poultry industry faces dire straits as rising temperatures are claiming lives of chickens daily, with egg production also plummeting.

There are many poultry farms at Jotgacha village under Maligacha union in Pabna sadar upazila.  During visit to the village it was seen that workers are taking different steps to save chickens.

A worker named Anisur Rahman said there are two thousand chickens in his farm. Despite all kind of arrangements, 40 chickens have died due to heatstroke.

A Jahangir Alam said, “I have arranged the shed to stay cool by sprinkling water through artificial fountains. The chickens are being constantly fanned, fed with extra cold water and saline. But chickens are dying of heatstroke everyday. The heatwave has also brought a decline in egg production”.

Pabna District Livestock Department Officer Gourango Kumar Talukdar said even with adequate ventilation and using fans, chickens remain vulnerable to heatstroke as this extreme heat cannot be reduced by just running fans.  In response to the crisis, they advise farmers to cover the roofs of the sheds with leaves and sprinkle water on the leaves to control the heat.

According to farmers, if this situation continues, a crisis may arise in the supply of broiler chickens and eggs in the coming days.