Commercial Poultry Farming in Saudi Arabia

Extreme Desert Climate Mitigation: Ambient temperatures in central Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Qassim) exceed 48°C during summer, with low relative humidity (<15%). Coastal regions (Jeddah, Dammam) face lower peaks but extreme humidity, hindering evaporative cooling.

• Insulation Integrity: Poultry houses must be constructed with polyurethane sandwich panels providing a minimum insulation value of R-20 to R-24 (U-value < 0.25 W/m²K) to block intense solar radiation.

• Cooling Pad & Fogging Systems: Evaporative cooling pads are coupled with high-pressure fogging systems (operating at 70 bar / 1000 psi). Fogging nozzles atomize water into particles < 10 microns, which evaporate instantly in dry air to absorb latent heat without wetting the litter.

• Static Pressure Limits: Maintain tight static pressure (0.08 to 0.12 inches of water column / 20–30 Pa) inside the tunnel house to ensure incoming air speed through pads is distributed evenly, avoiding hot spots.

Ration Costs & Date Palm By-products: KSA relies heavily on imported yellow corn and soybean meal. To offset import costs, local research has focused on utilizing abundant agricultural byproducts:

• Date Palm Waste & Stones: Ground date stones (seed) can replace corn up to 10% in broiler grower diets and up to 15% in layer diets. Date waste is rich in carbohydrates but contains high hemicellulose and tannin concentrations.

• Enzyme Supplementation: Diets utilizing date palm byproducts require addition of beta-glucanase and xylanase enzymes to break down non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs), improving nutrient digestibility and feed conversion.

National Biosecurity Framework: The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) enforces strict biosecurity parameters to limit viral spread:

• Audits and Distances: Farms must implement triple-gate sanitation, vehicle disinfection tunnels, and maintain a minimum distance of 5 km from other poultry facilities.

• Vaccine Protocols: High pressure from Avian Influenza (H9N2), Newcastle Disease, and Infectious Bronchitis (IBV variant Q1). Flocks are immunized with a combination of live vector (recombinant HVT-ND) vaccines at the hatchery, followed by booster inactivated oil-emulsion ND+IB+AI vaccines injected at 3 weeks.