In Uruguay, the heat wave kills 400,000 laying hens in three days
In Uruguay, 12% of the national production of laying hens died.
Getty Images/EyeEm - Maria Gabriela Bertolini / EyeEm
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In Uruguay, the consequences of the heat wave that hit South America at the end of last week are disastrous for the poultry sector.
Due to the high heat, 400,000 laying hens died in just three days.
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The department of Canelones had never recorded such temperatures.
They reached 43°C for several days, with even a peak of 48. A disaster for this poultry farm located north of the capital Montevideo.
In farms, which had already recently experienced other recent episodes of high heat, fans and foggers were not enough this time: at least 60,000 chickens and 400,000 laying hens died in the space of three days.
For the hens alone, the losses are estimated at more than one and a half million dollars.
More than 12% of the national egg production capacity has been decimated.
According to the boss of the Uruguayan Association of Poultry Producers, it will take several days for the other poultry to recover.
He explains that this heat wave will have an impact on laying, but also on the size of the eggs.
The drop in supply should, logically, have an impact on prices.
► To read also: Argentina: an extreme heat wave causes chaos and power failure
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