Poultry and Livestock Farming

At virtually every stage of a barn-raised poultry and livestock's life cycle, the management of CO2 levels using CO2 monitors is required.

With poultry, it starts with egg incubation. Using CO2 as a blanket gas over the eggs helps regulate overall temperature, resulting in fewer "early peeps". Many of our clients use our 1% CO2 Transmitter/Controller in a NEMA enclosure to monitor and control the CO2 levels.

How is CO2 used in poultry farming and production?

For eggs used in vaccine production, a virus is inserted into an egg, incubated, harvested, then inactivated. This process requires carbon dioxide levels in the 5-11% range, which can be achieved using our CO2 controllers in a NEMA4 enclosure.

Once the eggs have hatched, thousands of chicks are shipped from hatcheries to growers in trucks. Since even a single dead chick could be indicative of a mass problem, CO2 levels inside the trucks are carefully recorded for insurance purposes using products like our Remote CO2 Data Logger with the head unit inside the cab and the transmitter in the truck's trailer.

Chicks metabolize their food more slowly under high-CO2 levels. By regulating CO2, growers can further minimize the time it takes to transform the chicks into broilers or egg-laying hens. Many of our clients use a 1% CO2 IAQ Transmitter/Controller to maximize the balance between production and energy efficiency.

Controlled atmosphere killing (CAK) or controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) are used both within processing plants and on-farm for euthanizing poultry.

Research shows that birds exposed to a combination of high levels of CO2 combined with oxygen or inert gases like argon are preferred over CO2 alone because it results in less agitation and distress before the loss of consciousness. Our CO2 + Oxygen Monitor is used to monitor and control these gas levels to balance bird comfort and production requirements.