All The Delegates

Egg a day keeps Doctor away

Venkateshwara Research and Breeding Farm Breeding for Profits for all
 FOCUSING TOWARDS
EFFECTIVE
UTILIZATON OF
GENETIC POTENTIAL
OF LAYING HENS

Egg a day keeps Doctor away

Venkateshwara Research & Breeding Farm Breeding for Profits for all
 Comparative Prices of Egg and Feed

30000 30
28000 28
26000 25000.0 26
24000 24
22000 22

Wholesale Egg Price/Egg

20000 20
18000 18
Feed Price Per Ton(RS)

16000 16
14000 14
12000 12
10000 10
8000 8
6000 5 6
4000 4
2000
1500 1 2
0 0
0 0
1980 Year 2024

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Price Rankings by Country for 12 Eggs (in US $)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 2 4 6 8

Switzerland 6.87 Bosnia And Herzegovina 2.57

New Zealand 6.23 El Salvador 2.55
Denmark 4.51 Saudi Arabia 2.54
Netherlands 4.41 Venezuela 2.54
Austria 4.21 Oman 2.49
Greece 4.17 Hungary 2.49
Australia 4.04 Serbia 2.46
Israel 4 Armenia 2.45
France 3.96 Georgia 2.33
Norway 3.94 Sri Lanka 2.29
Ireland 3.92 Argentina 2.27
Sweden 3.8 Moldova 2.26
Cyprus 3.78 Kuwait 2.26
United States 3.76 South Africa 2.25
United Kingdom 3.75 Mexico 2.19
Uruguay 3.74 Mauritius 2.14
Italy 3.63 Ecuador 2.09
Hong Kong (China) 3.55 Japan 2.07
Belgium 3.54 Thailand 2.05
Chile 3.46 Jordan 2.05
Costa Rica 3.42 North Macedonia 2.03
Croatia 3.39 Colombia 2.02
Slovakia 3.39 Nigeria 1.99
Germany 3.38
Philippines 1.98
Canada 3.36
Malaysia 1.92
Albania Brazil 1.82
3.36 Morocco 1.79
Malta 3.25 Bolivia
Bulgaria 3.23
1.79
Iraq 1.76
Singapore 3.2 Algeria 1.71
Finland 3.09 Ukraine 1.68
Cuba 3.02 China 1.65
Poland 3.01 Uzbekistan 1.64
Romania 3 Turkey 1.62
United Arab Emirates 3 Kenya 1.61
South Korea 2.93 Indonesia 1.58
Montenegro 2.89 Kazakhstan 1.57
Portugal 2.84 Nepal 1.55
Taiwan 2.75 Vietnam 1.51
Bahrain 2.74 Tunisia 1.49
Latvia 2.74 Egypt 1.43
Czech Republic 2.72 Libya 1.43
Spain 2.68 Azerbaijan 1.4
Qatar 2.65 Belarus 1.28
Palestine 2.62 Russia 1.23
Lithuania 2.62 Bangladesh 1.22
Panama 2.59 Pakistan 1.2
Estonia 2.59 Iran 1.17 Numbeo 2024
Peru 2.58 India 0.97
Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 P = G + E + GE
 Where :

P = Phenotype (outward expression)

G = Genotype
E = Environment
GE = Genotype & Environment Interaction
 The Beginning
Babcock, USA, awarded Dr. B. V. Rao sole franchise rights for
Babcock Layer Breeding Stock in India and supplied Grand Parents.

Dr. B. V. Rao established

Grand Parent farm,
network of associate
hatcheries and developed
technical service team for
their support. 20th Jun 1972 : Opening of
Venkateshwara Hatchery
Venkateshwara Research and Breeding Farm
Pure Line Layer Project

A Joint Venture Between

VH Group (60 %)
&
Babcock, U.S.A. (40 %)
Established in 1980.
 Team Building

Chief Geneticist was appointed in 1980, well before the start of operations.
Critical inputs in the formative years, laid strong foundation. Geneticist also
joined before the start of the operations.
 Dedicated Team - VRB

Someone must mix the mortar.

Someone must carry the stone.
For neither the man nor the master
has ever built alone.
In building a roof for the needy or in
building a house for the king.
It is only by working together.
That we will ever accomplish a
thing.

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 18th April 1981 Pure Lines arrived in VRB From Babcock, USA

Occasion of formal inauguration of pure line project by eminent

plant breeder and Director General of Indian Council of
Agricultural Research Dr. M. S. Swaminathan.

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Facilities at Pure Line Farms In VRB
Open Sided Layer Pedigree Houses

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Evolution
of
Performance
 Genetic Improvement of Layers
Genetic Progress
Year 1981 2023
Aggregate % Annual
Hen Housed Production(72 weeks) 270.0 340.0 70.0 25.9 1.75
Hen Housed Production(80 weeks) 386.0
Hen Housed Production(100 weeks) 490.0
Hen Day Production (72 weeks) 74.0 90.0 16.0 21.6 0.40
Peak production % 92.0 98.0 6.0 6.5 0.15
Livability 91.0 96.0 5.0 5.5 0.13
Early Egg Weight 46.0 50.0 4.0 8.7 0.10
Late Egg weight 59.0 60.0 1.0 1.7 0.03
Daily Feed intake 110.0 109.0 -1.0 -0.9 -0.03
Feed per egg 154.0 121.0 -33.0 -21.4 -0.83
Performance Variation in the field
 To get more eggs from hen,
you must first build a better hen

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Biosecurity and disease-free
flock
Brooding/Growing
Management
A well-balanced feeding
strategy
Properly designed lighting
programme

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Rearing Period
Formulate the feed with highly digestible ingredients.

Chick Feed : 0 day to 400 g BW – Select good quality ingredients.

(0 to 6 week)
Feed intake is limited during the first few weeks of the chick’s
life due to the limited capacity of the GIT.
Digestive System Crumble feed help to increase the feed intake.

Keeping brooding temperature, humidity, adequate space, ventilation and

Immune System water quality are of key importance.

Circulatory System Start grower feed @ 400 g Body Weight.

Less feed consumption results in low Body Weight.

Organ
Increase the density of the nutrients if required.
Skeletal System
The weekly weight gain is maximum in this period
Feathers
Best feed efficiency due to lower maintenance requirement.

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Rearing Period

Crumble feed is recommended to maintain growth and

Grower Feed : 400 to 750 g BW – development.
(7 to 10 weeks)
Grower feed has a lower energy level than chick feed in
order to stimulate the chick’s feed intake.

Feed consumption is increasing so reduce amino acid

density. Amino Acid Requirement is same.
It's a quote
attributed to the
Do not allow fine particles to accumulate.
Ancient Greek
physician
Hippocrates Ensure consumption of feed offered completely within 24
nearly 2500 hours period.
years ago.

Start Developer feed @ 750 g achievement.

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Rearing Period

Developer Feed : 750 to 1050 g BW – Higher Crude Fiber Level – for development of
(11 to 15 weeks) GIT

If pullets are well trained to eat, it helps to

increase feed consumption in early laying period.

Developer feed is continued up to 14 days before

onset of production when comb & wattles
develop & become red.

Give 50% coarse limestone grit (2 – 3mm) & 50%

fine limestone for developing gizzard.

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Rearing Period
Enormous Physiological changes in the Bird.

3.4: Pre Lay Feed : up to 0.5% HDP – Deposition of adequate Medullary bone reserves
(16 to 17 weeks)
60 -70% of the medullary calcium reserves are located
in the long bones

Pre-lay feed normally contain 2.2% calcium

This bone deposition coincides with follicular

maturation and is under the control of both Estrogen &
Androgens (Sexual Hormones).
Pre Lay Feed should have high calcium & high nutrient
levels.
Proper use of pre-lay feed can enhance the uniformity
of a pullet flock.
The development of the ovary and oviduct needs
energy & amino acids.
Whitehead, 2004

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Rearing Period – Performance Objectives
Feed Consumption per
Body weight Crude ME
bird (g)
Cum Protein intake(
Age Types of
Depleti Gain % Average intake Kcal)
weeks Average Range Cumul Feed
on % Range (g) /week Gain/ (Per (g)/bird /bird/d
(g) (per day) ative
(g) week day) /day ay

1 0.8 65 60-70 30 86 11 9-13 77 2.3 32 Chick

2 1.2 110 100-120 45 69 16 14-18 189 3.3 46 Chick
3 1.5 165 150-180 55 50 18 16-20 315 3.7 52 Chick
4 1.7 235 215-255 70 42 25 23-27 490 5.1 73 Chick
5 1.9 315 290-340 80 34 35 33-37 735 7.2 102 Chick
6 2.1 400 375-425 85 27 40 38-42 1015 8.2 116 Chick
7 2.3 490 460-520 90 23 44 41-47 1323 8.1 128 Grower
8 2.5 580 550-610 90 18 48 45-51 1659 8.9 139 Grower
9 2.7 665 630-700 85 15 49 46-52 2002 9.1 137 Grower
10 2.9 750 710-790 85 13 50 47-53 2352 9.3 140 Grower
11 3.1 825 780-870 75 10 51 48-54 2709 8.4 143 Developer
12 3.2 890 840-940 65 8 54 51-57 3087 8.9 151 Developer
13 3.3 950 900-1000 60 7 56 53-59 3479 9.2 148 Developer
14 3.4 1000 950-1050 50 5 58 55-61 3885 9.6 154 Developer
15 3.5 1050 1000-1100 50 5 60 56-64 4305 9.9 159 Developer
16 3.6 1105 1050-1160 55 5 62 57-67 4739 10.5 161 Pre-lay*
17 3.7 1170 1110-1230 65 6 63 58-68 5180 10.7 164 Pre-lay
18 3.8 1240 1180-1300 70 6 66 60-72 5642 11.2 172 Phas e-1**

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Rearing Period – Nutrient Requirements
Feeding phases Chick Grower Developer Prelay*
400g body 10 days before onset of 0.5% daily egg
Feed up to 750g body weight
weight production production
Nutrient Unit
Metabolizable Energy (min) Kcal/kg 2900 2850 2700 2700
Crude Protein % 20.50 18.50 16.50 17.00
Crude Fiber % 3.50 4.0 – 5.0 5.0 – 6.0 4.5 – 5.5
Ether extract % 3.5 – 5.5 3.0 – 4.5 3.0 – 4.0 3.0 – 4.5
Dig. Lysine % 1.00 0.90 0.70 0.73
Dig. Methionine % 0.50 0.44 0.36 0.38
Dig. Methionine + Cysteine % 0.77 0.70 0.60 0.64
Dig. Threonine % 0.67 0.61 0.49 0.51
Dig. Tryptophan % 0.21 0.19 0.16 0.17
Dig. Arginine % 1.10 0.99 0.77 0.80
Dig. Isoleucine % 0.74 0.67 0.56 0.59
Dig. Valine % 0.82 0.74 0.67 0.68
Calcium % 1.05 1.05 1.05 2.20
Available Phosphorus % 0.48 0.46 0.42 0.42
Sodium % 0.20 0.18 0.18 0.18
Chloride % 0.20 0.18 0.18 0.18
Potassium % 0.92 0.87 0.86 0.84
Linoleic Acid % 1.50 1.30 1.25 1.50

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Laying Period – Recommended Nutrient Requirements

Phase-I Phase-II Phase-III Phase-IV

Nutrient Unit From 0.5% production 71 weeks above
31 to 50 weeks age 51 to 70 weeks age
until 30 weeks age age
Metabolizable Energy Kcal/kg feed 2650 2600 2550 2550
Crude Protein g/day 17.0 16.75 16.50 16.0
Crude Fiber (minimum) % 4.0 – 5.5 4.5 – 6.0 4.5 – 6.0 4.5 – 6.0
Ether Extract (minimum) % 3.0 - 3.5 2.5 2.0 2.0
Dig. Lysine g/day 0.750 0.725 0.700 0.675
Dig. Methionine g/day 0.420 0.380 0.350 0.320
Dig. Meth. + Cysteine g/day 0.675 0.635 0.600 0.570
Dig. Threonine g/day 0.53 0.51 0.49 0.47
Dig. Tryptophan g/day 0.17 0.17 0.16 0.15
Dig. Arginine g/day 0.83 0.80 0.77 0.74
Dig. Isoleucine g/day 0.58 0.56 0.53 0.51
Dig. Valine g/day 0.68 0.66 0.64 0.62
Calcium g/day 4.00 4.30 4.60 4.75
Av. Phosphorus g/day 0.40 0.38 0.32 0.30
Sodium g/day 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18
Chloride g/day 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18
Potassium g/day 0.78 0.77 0.76 0.75
Linoleic Acid g/day 1.20 1.20 1.10 1.00

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamins/Minerals Units per kg feed
Vitamin A IU 12000
Vitamin D3 IU 3500
Add 250 mg/kg feed additional Vit - C in hot &
Thiamine (B1) mg 4
stressful condition.
Riboflavin (B2) mg 10
Vitamins
Niacin (B3) mg 40
Pantothenic acid (B5) mg 15
Pyridoxin (B6) mg 5
Biotin (B7) mcg 100
Folic Acid (B9) mg 1 If there is possibility of more than usual loss of
Cyanocobalamin (B12) mcg 25 vitamins in the process of feed manufacturing
and/or in specific disease condition, the vitamin
Ascorbic Acid (Vit.- C) mg 50
levels may be increased as per the suggestions of
Vitamin E mg 50
the Nutritionist or disease expert.
Vitamin K3 mg 3
Choline Chloride 60% added mg 1500
Copper mg 20
Minerals

Zinc mg 110
Iron mg 80
Manganese mg 110
Store all vitamins in air-conditioned room.
Iodine mg 1.2
Selenium mg 0.4
Based on BV300 Nutrition & Management Guide 2023

Use quality vitamins and minerals for achieving the performance objectives.
Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Ingredient and Feed quality

Modernized Harvest Technology

Good storage facility

Bulk load tanker transport

• Reduces cost/ton
• Labor efficient
• Biosecurity

Raw material Price fluctuations

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Feed Toxicity

Harmful Effects Of Mycotoxins in Layers

• Reduced feed • Increased susceptibility to • Increased incidences of

consumption diseases blood spots
• Poor growth rates • Increased mortality • Pale yolk
• Reduced egg production • Poor eggshell quality • Reduced fertility and
• Reduced feed conversion hatchability
(FCR) • Leg problems in young
chicks

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Significance of Rearing
Results in Laying Period
key factors in Maintain Prevent Manage egg Excellent
rearing good Shell cage layer weight Laying
Quality fatigue development Persistency
Pre-Lay diet +++ +++ ++ +
Feed intake
capacity + ++ +++ +++
development
Body weight &
flock uniformity + + +++ +++
(16 week)
Note : + Impact, ++ Strong Impact, +++ Very Strong Impact
Layer QC
FEED QUALITY CONFERENCES 2018,
Paulien Rutten

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Increment in feed consumption from first egg to peak

120

110 111
108 109
110 106 107
104
100

Feed consumption(g)
100
95

90
90
85

80
80
Feed consumption/bird/day(g)
70
70

60
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Age in weeks

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Increment in body weight from first egg to peak

1600

Weekly Body weight (g)

1500 1470 1480 1490
1450 1460
1430 1440
1415
1400
1400 1380
body weight(g)

1350
1300
1300
1240

1200 1170

1105
1100

1000
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Age in weeks

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Weekly increment in Egg weight

60

58
40% increment from 18 week to 30 weeks 55.8 56.0 56.2
56 55.5
55.0
54.0
54 52.8
52 51.5
50.0
Egg weight(g)

50

48 47.5

46 45.0

44
42.5
42
40 2.5g/week 1 g/week 0.5g/week
40

38
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Age in weeks

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Bio-security
Bar is raising continuously.
Yielding good results. There is need for
further?
Advice for following cleaning and
disinfection protocol including thermal
fogging.
Proper disposal of dead birds.

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Biosecurity
Location and site of the farm

Separate isolated site for layers away from Rearing

farm.

Distance between farms/sheds

All – In – All – Out systems.

Flock schedule

Control of man and material movement

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Components of Egg production cost (100 week)

Miscellaneous Cost of Layer DOC Rearing Feed cost

Expesnes 2.3% 8.3%
Vaccination & 6.7%
Medication cost
3.8%

Laying Feed cost

79.0%

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Economics of marketing strategies by competitors
Free chicks%
Chick Base Realized in terms of
Free % Difference
Rate (Rs) Rate/chick (Rs) eggs

5 46 43.81 2.19 0.5

10 46 41.82 4.18 0.9
15 46 40.00 6.00 1.3
20 46 38.33 7.67 1.6
25 46 36.80 9.20 2.0
30 46 35.38 10.62 2.3
Compensation for 10% Benefit of 4.60 Rs per
Equivalent to 1 egg
growing depletion bird.

Batch to batch credit- Benefit of 1.83 Rs per

Equivalent to ½ egg
120 days @ 12% bird.

Lower Chick rate 30 Rs Benefit of 16 Rs per

Equivalent to 3.4 eggs
per chick bird.
For calculation average NECC egg price for the year 2023 at Hyderabad considered

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Economic indicators in commercial layers

1 gram Feed per egg ≡ 12 Rs profit per bird

≡ 5.5 Eggs per Hen Housed

1% average Hen Day
Production ≡ 25 Rs. profit per bird

1 % laying mortality ≡ 11 Rs profit per bird

Economical if HDP% is not reduced

1000 Rs. per ton feed cost ≡
more than 2.5% ( equivalent to 14
eggs HHP)
1 Rs. DOC Price ≡ 0.2 paise Egg production cost

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 Take Care of Your Bird
&
She will take care of
You

Late Padmashri Dr. B V Rao

Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all
 The impossible exits only until we find a
way to make it possible.
(Mike Horns)

Thank You
For Kind Attention
Egg a day keeps Doctor away Breeding for Profits for all