Ice, fans and cooling pads: How Malaysia’s chicken farmers are beating El Niño heat

Malaysia's chicken farmers are employing various strategies to combat the extreme heat brought on by the impending El Niño season. Inside closed-house chicken farms, workers like Mohd Muzamri Shoib, the farmer and chairman of the Selangor Poultry Farmers Association, take care to minimize stress in the birds, as even an unfamiliar presence can cause significant distress. The primary threat to the chickens, however, comes from the heat itself, which can impact growth rates, farm losses, and overall performance.

Malaysia may face extreme heat and dry weather from January to May 2027, with temperatures potentially reaching 40°C, as forecasted by MetMalaysia. To combat this, Muzamri's farm utilizes closed-house poultry buildings equipped with cooling pads and exhaust fans, which regulate temperature and prevent the buildup of ammonia and odors.

The cooling pads circulate water pumped from tanks and cool the air as it passes through them. Exhaust fans then remove the cooled air and help maintain a controlled environment based on the age of the chickens. Younger birds require warmer conditions, around 37°C, while older broilers are more sensitive to heat. Professor Datuk Zulkifli Idrus, a director at Universiti Putra Malaysia, explained that chickens cannot sweat like humans, making them particularly vulnerable to prolonged heat stress.

To counter this, Muzamri's farm has developed an environmental control system that adjusts temperature, ventilation, and feeding. The farmer plans to upgrade the system to manage these functions remotely via a smartphone. During particularly intense heat, Muzamri buys bags of ice and places them in a reservoir, allowing water to circulate and cool the cooling pads. The farm's eight water tanks provide a constant supply of clean drinking water, which chickens consume more of during hot weather.