Poultry Management

POULTRY MANAGEMENT Poultry management usually refers to the husbandry practices or production techniques that help to maximize the efficiency of production. Sound management practices are very essential to optimize production. Scientific poultry management aims at maximizing returns with minimum investment. Brooder Management Brooder house: Brooder house should be draft-free, rain-proof and protected against predators. Brooding pens should have windows with wire mesh for adequate ventilation. Too dusty environment irritates the respiratory tract of the chicks. Besides dust is one of the vehicles of transmission of diseases. Too much moisture causes ammonia fumes which irritate the respiratory tract and eyes. Good ventilation provides a comfortable environment without draft. Sanitation and hygiene: All movable equipments like feeders, waterers and hovers should be removed from the house, cleaned and disinfected. All litters are to be scraped and removed. The interior as well as exterior of the house should be cleaned under pressure. The house should be disinfected with any commercial disinfectant solution at the recommended concentration. Insecticide should be sprayed to avoid insect threat. Malathion spray/blow lamping or both can be used to control ticks and mites. New litter should be spread after each cleaning. The insecticides if necessary should be mixed with litter at recommended doses. Litter: Suitable litter material like saw dust and paddy husk should be spread to a length of 5 cm depending upon their availability and cost. Mouldy material should not be used. The litter should be stirred at frequent intervals to prevent caking. Wet litters if any should be removed immediately and replaced by dry new litter. This prevents ammoniacal odour. Brooding temperature: Heating is very much essential to provide right temperature in the brooder house. Too high or too low a temperature slows down growth and causes mortality. During the first week the temperature

The simple answer to this commonly asked question is: “both”. Both male and female chickens are used to produce chicken meat. That’s the case right around the world. Unlike the case for the egg industry, where only hens are required to lay the eggs that are sold for human consumption, both male and female meat chickens can be and are grown for meat and are equally valued by the chicken meat industry. This is just one of many differences between the two industries…. other differences include that meat chickens are never grown in cages and come from completely different breeds of chickens than egg laying chickens (for more information about the breeds used by the two industries see my earlier blog: no cages for meat chickens). While it’s not possible to know whether the meat that you buy has come from a male or a female chicken (they will look and taste the same), roughly 50% of the meat chickens grown in Australia will be males and 50% females. Are they grown differently? Do they look different? These days, both male and female meat chickens are generally grown together in the same barns. Indeed, it’s impossible to distinguish between them when they are day old chicks delivered to farms around Australia. However, from about 30 days of age physical differences between the two sexes start to emerge, and by the time they are collected for processing for human consumption (which is before they have reached sexual maturity), it is possible to differentiate between young male and female meat chickens in a flock. Males are a bit ‘meatier’ in their breasts, their legs and feet are thicker and their combs and wattles (the red floppy fleshy bits on top of their head and below their chin respectively) are bigger, brighter and more noticeable. Male chickens tend to grow a bit faster, and at the same age will be a bit bigger than their female counterparts. Therefore, while the ratio of males to females when they hatch is roughly 50:50 (slightly more males,

Paying proper attention to the Seven Brooding Basics requires making proper use of just six basic tools. Five of these, shown below the bucket, left to right, are relatively low-cost instruments that every grower should be familiar with: wind meters, smoke emitters, pressure gauges, air temperature and humidity meters, and infrared temperature guns. The bucket represents the sixth and most important tool: you yourself, live and in person, taking the time to sit on a bucket inside each house observing chick behaviour and equipment operation. The gadgets are essential for getting accurate readings of particular in-house conditions but they do not tell the whole story. It’s up to you to assess the situation and make the right management decisions to give your chicks the best start possible. Brooding Basic 1: Litter Management Litter conditions set the tone for the flock long before the chicks arrive on the farm. For best performance, chicks must be placed on a consistent minimum of four inches of dry bedding at or around 88-92°F. Anything less will cause losses in performance proportional to the degree of insufficiency. If chicks are not started on fresh litter, steps must be taken to reduce litter moisture and properly condition the litter to release as much ammonia as possible before flock placement. Allowing the litter to set in a house cold and wet between flocks is a recipe for disaster. What to do: Remove caked litter as soon as possible after the birds leave. After this, windrowing, using litter conditioning equipment, heating the litter with attic inlets and ventilating between flocks can all help achieve the goal of dry litter with reduced ammonia at day one. Top-dressing the brooding chamber and applying a company approved, ammonia-controlling litter amendment at the manufacturer's suggested rate and method is also highly recommended. The goals of litter management are first of all to provide comfortable bedding conditions for the chicks but also to reduce

Recent ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in poultry feeds has drawn the concerns of researchers towards the presence of various natural substances like medicinal herbs, as a new class of additives to animal and poultry feeds, have beneficial properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and anti-fungal as well as immune-modulatory and anticoccidial effects. There are plenty resources of different kinds of medicinal herbs which can be used as natural feed additives for poultry. Commonly known herbs that have received particular attention from researchers are Aloe vera, Fenugreek, Ashwagandha, Moringa oleifera, Cinnamon, Tulsi, Garlic, Pepper etc. Herbal preparations help in the digestion process and being a component of nature, these preparations are considered safe, cost effective and environment friendly with no side effect. Hence, their inclusion in the diet should be encouraged to enhance the bird’s performance, improve feed utilization, maintain health and alleviate adverse effect of environmental stress. So far, subtherapeutic dosage of antibiotics has been used more than 50 years in poultry nutrition to promote growth performance and prevent diseases . However, continuous use of in-feed antibiotics is suspected to result in common problems such as increasing resistance of pathogens to antibiotics , accumulation of antibiotic residues in animal products and the environment , and imbalance of normal microflora . Thus, efforts have been made to substitute antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) with possible alternative growth promoters. Phytogenic and herbal products have received increased attention as natural additives in recent years because they have been accepted by consumers as natural additives . Aloe vera (AV) (Aloe barbadensis Miller) is a well-known medicinal herb and it has been used for commercial and therapeutic properties in many parts of the world . AV gel contains compounds with proven antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antio

The term ‘quail farming’ means, raising quails commercially (like other poultry birds) for the purpose of profitable eggs and meat production. The quail farming business is very easy, lucrative and entertaining. It’s very easy to maintain a quail farm, because quails are among the smallest species of poultry birds. The Japanese scientists first tamed the wild quails and revealed the ways to raise them as domestic birds. Commercial quail farming in Japan has spread tremendously. Now, people throughout the world performing quail farming business commercially for the purpose of meat and egg production. Quail farming is very profitable like other farming ventures such as chicken, turkey or duck farming business. Almost all types of weather conditions are suitable for starting quail farming business. Meat and eggs of quail are very tasty and nutritious suitable for diabetic patient. Quail eggs are very nutritious than other poultry eggs. Because quail eggs contain comparatively more protein, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, B1 and B2. Quail farming can play a vital role to meet up the demand of food and nutrition. Quail farming business require small initial capital and labor. Quails can be raised along with your other poultry birds for meat or eggs production. Characteristics of Quail Quails are very small sized bird. An adult quail weights between 150 to 200 grams and an egg weights around 7 to 15 grams. Female quails start laying eggs within their 6 to 7 weeks of age and continuously lay one egg daily. They lay about 300 eggs in their first year of life. After that they produce about 150 to 175 eggs in second year. Eggs production gradually decrease after their first year of laying period. Quail egg is very suitable for human health. It contains 2.47 % less fat than chicken egg. Many people believe that ‘quail eggs help to prevent blood pressure, diabetic, pant etc’. Quail meat is very tasty and nutritious. Fat is very low in their meat. So quail meat is very

Types of poultry waste 1. Poultry manure 2. Hatchery waste 3. Slaughter house and processing plant waste 4. Dead bird 1. POULTRY MANURE Two main types of waste are produced by poultry enterprises depending on the rearing system adopted on the farm • Poultry litter – Waste from deep litter systems • Cage layer waste – Excreta collected under the cages, spilled feed and feathers. Poultry manure contains · Nitrogen · Zinc · Phosphorus · Copper · Potassium · Boron · Calcium · Iron · Sulfur · Manganese · Magnesium a. Drying • Oldest, cheapest and feasible method • Dried under sunlight and depends on lengths of time, climate and humidity. • Drying the manure with heat results in loss of energy and nitrogen. • Thin bed drying prevents the breeding of flies, reduces obnoxious odours and maintains the nutrient value of the manure particles. • The faster the manure is dried, the higher is the nitrogen value. b. Heaping • Deep stacking of poultry waste produces considerable heat and had been shown to destroy coliforms. • The maximum temperature was reportedly attained in 4-8 days. c. Poultry manure as organic fertilizer • Poultry manure applications increase the moisture holding capacity of the soil • Improve lateral water movement, improves irrigation efficiency and decreases drought • Improve soil retention and uptake of plant nutrients. • Increase the number and diversity of soil microorganisms. d. Biogas / Electricity generation from poultry litter • Poultry litter has a good calorific value for power generation by combustion under controlled conditions. • The technology for anaerobic conversion of poultry manure to biogas (methane) has been developed. • Electricity production facilities estimated assuming poultry litter utilization rates of 1000 tons/year, 10,000 tons/year, and 50,000 tons/year for various technologies range from 34–70

In the summer season, as the temperature increases, poultry suffers from the condition called heat stress, also known as summer stress. This is a condition of imbalance between heat generation and heat loss in the body. This condition not only brings poor performance in birds but is also responsible for huge economic losses in terms of poor growth, lowered production, and higher mortality. This condition becomes a greater challenge when coupled with a high humidity environment, making the birds even more vulnerable. According to research, poultry is most comfortable in an environmental temperature around 22-28°C (known as their thermoneutral zone). Once the temperature rises beyond this point, poultry show symptoms of heat stress: reduction in feed intake, poor growth, poor production, and increased mortality. In general, birds are susceptible to high environmental temperature due to an absence of sweat glands, their full body of feathers, their higher body temperature, and the fatty nature of the birds. This heat or summer stress not only brings lowered performance in poultry but also leads to immunosuppression issues, which can result in disease outbreaks and cause heavy mortality. This is mainly due to an absence of sweat glands in poultry making it impossible for them to dissipate heat. In this, males are found to be more prone to heat stress than females. Ultimately, heat stress causes acid-base disequilibrium, or the inability to cool the body to maintain normal body temperature. Panting allows birds to release heat through an evaporative cooling kind of method, but high humidity coupled with high temperature causes insufficient panting to control body temperature resulting in heat stress. Behavioural, neuroendocrinal, and physiological changes are observed in birds during heat stress. Behavioural changes can include decreased feed intake, increased water intake, panting, less walking, and elevated wings. Physiological changes include oxidative stress, acid

Several developmental and physiological processes occur during the important and sensitive brooding period of poultry, which is the first 7 days of a chicken’s life. The poultry seems anatomically complete at hatch, but the thermoregulatory, gastro-intestinal and immune system need further development and maturation. Optimal brooding is essential to optimize animal health and contributes to a good performance and survival in later life. Brooding is the art and science of rearing baby chicks. A newly hatched chick does not develop the thermoregulatory mechanism fully and takes about two weeks to develop this mechanism and homeostasis. Therefore, they cannot maintain the body temperature properly for the first few weeks of life; and may be subjected to chilling leading to increase mortality, if not properly taken care of. Brooding of chicks is very important operation in the early age of the chicks. Chicks are provided with required temperature by artificial means. CLASSIFICATION OF BROODING: Brooding can be classified into two classes: o Natural brooding o Artificial brooding Natural brooding: It is done with the help of broody hens after hatching, up to 3 to 4 weeks Artificial brooding: In artificial brooding large number of baby chicks are reared in the absence of broody hen. Equipment used for brooding are called brooders. Brooder comprises of three elements: Heating source, Reflectors, Brooder guard. Heating source may be electrical, gases like natural gas, LPG and methane, liquid fuel like kerosene and solid fuel like coal wood can be used as a heating material. Charcoal stove / kerosene stove: Where electricity is not available, ordinary charcoal / kerosene stoves are used to provide supplementary heat to chicks. These stoves are covered with plate / pans to dissipate the heat. Gas brooder: Natural gas, LPG or methane is connected to heating element which is hanged 3 to 5 feet above the chick to provide heat. Electrical brooder: It is also thermostatically co

Brooding management in deep litter system Cleaning and disinfection of poultry house. Spreading litter material. Form a circle of about 5 feet diameter with brooder guard which can hold about 200 to 250 chicks. News papers, heat source, feeder and waterer arrangements inside the brooder guard.

Brooding Management in Poultry is done in the first 14 days period of the broiler poultry life – which is the most sensitive period because the bird is changing from an immature system to a mature system. For a better and profitable poultry production we can't ignore Good Brooding Management practice. While Brooding Management in Poultry, poultry producer's one common mistake is to think only of maintaining the proper temperature. Apart from temperature we should also take care of other issues. Other issues like 80-20 rule , which means that 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes. While brooding we should always think about the brooding temperature, air quality, water and feed. Proper management of these areas will be the key factor to uniformity, which results in good performance. We will assume that we receive good quality chicks from the hatchery, which means that the day-old chicks are active with bright eyes wide open, with strong and shiny shins, navels healed, without physical defects, no pathogens and with good maternal immunity. The first week of Brooding Management in Poultry corresponds to 23% of the life of the 1.75g broiler. This first week represented 11% of the entire life in 1978 to achieve the same weight. So the proper commitment to a good start is very important for the broiler, and each good point achieved will be rewarded in good performance. In many countries, some poultry producers think that by the second week the birds are adults already and stop giving them external help to maintain good conditions. This could lead to one of the worst situations in the brooding period. Temperature of Brooding Management in Poultry: Two basic systems of temperature control are used for brooding management in poultry: Spot brooding (canopy or radiant heaters). The heat source is local so chicks can move away to cooler areas and thus select for themselves a preferred temperature. Whole-house brooding. The heat source is larger and more widely

Brooding Management in Pakistan is very easy and is a very critical period for the growth of the broiler. The importance of brooding is very helpful in good weight gain and FCR and immunity. Brooding is defined as the management of chicks from one day old to about 8 weeks of age, and it involves the provision of heat and other necessary care during chicks' early growing period. Brooding units are designed to house chicks from one day old until they no longer need supplementary heat (0-8 weeks) Brooding is the base of the flock. What is brooding and what are its types. Why brooding is importance. What are the types of brooders. Pre brooding managements in poultry. What is brooding. What should be the temperature and litter in the flock in the broiler farming. Broodiness is the action or behavioral tendency to sit on a clutch of eggs to incubate them, often requiring the non-expression of many other behaviors including feeding and drinking