Broiler Management
Ex. No.
Date:
What is broiler?
Broiler is a meat type young chicken of either sex (unsexed mostly straight-run chicks
are reared together) that has a flexible breast bone cartilage, soft, pliable, smooth textured skin
and tender meat of about 6 to 8 weeks of age suitable for either broiling/ frying.
Rearing system of broiler
a) All-in-all-out system: It is the most commonly used rearing method for broilers. All the
chicks are started at the same day and later sold on the same day, after which there is a
period when no birds are on the premises. This lack of birds breaks any cycle of
infectious diseases.
b) Multiple batch system: In this system, chicks of several age groups are reared at the
same time in the same farm. Recent advances in isolation and disease control have made
it possible to rear different ages of chicks at the same time.
Space requirements: Floor space allowance for broilers is 450 cm2 (0.5sq.ft.)
per bird up to 18 days and 1000 cm2 (1.0 sq.ft.) per bird afterwards up to market age.
Optimal environmental conditions for rearing broilers
• Temperature: 22 to 300C (70 to 850F)
• Relative humidity: 30 to 60 per cent
• Ammonia: Less than 25 ppm
• Litter moisture: 15 to 25 per cent
• Airflow: 10 to 30 meters per minute
Monitoring growth rate
Monitor the growth of the broilers up to the market age by weighing at least 10 birds of average
size at the end of every week of age so as to make sure that they put on weight normally and there
is no sudden drop-in growth rate. If the growth rate is lower than the standard, the farmer has to
check the quality of feed for the presence of toxins, adequacy of protein and amino acid levels
(lysine, methionine etc.) and also the possibility of presence of any sub-clinical infection. Also
watch out for daily consumption of feed and water as any drastic change has to be investigated.
Litter management
Broilers are mostly reared on deep litter only. Various agro-industrial by-products and
waste products can be utilized as litter materials. Some of the commonly used litter materials are
paddy husk, ground nut hulls, saw dust, wood shavings, coir pith, chopped straw, bagasse or any
harmless agro-industrial thrash material, which absorbs moisture. The choice of linear material
depends mostly on cost and locally availability of the material.
A total litter height of 3 to 5 inches (in summer) and 8 to 12 inches (in winter) is sufficient.
The litter should be maintained practically dry. It is advisable to rake the litter every day morning
to break up caked material. Remove waterers and feeders outside while raking the litter to avoid
its spillage into them. Moisture level in litter material will go up every day because of water in
bird’s droppings. If it goes beyond 25% excess ammonia will be produced. If ammonia level in
the atmosphere exceeds 25 ppm, the birds will be subjected to various stress. There will be
irritation of eyes and nasal membrane leading to conjunctivitis, poor feed intake and growth rate.
The birds will be predisposed to diseases like coryza, bronchitis, other respiratory diseases and
also coccidiosis. Higher moisture level in the litter may also cause lameness, disinclination to move
and weight loss. To assess moisture level in the litter, take a handful of it and squeeze; if the litter
forms a cake, moisture level is high; if it crumbles into fine dust; moisture is low.
When litter remains wet even after raking, add some more fresh litter material. Addition of
super phosphate @ 2 kg/ 100 sq. ft will help in reducing ammonia level. Addition of lime powder
is not advisable. Try to prevent excess moisture build up by ensuring proper ventilation. Never
attempt to recycle old litter for subsequent batches.
Lighting management
For brooding, to provide warmth, continuous artificial lighting has to be given up to three days
(depending on seasonal requirements). Afterwards, it is better to provide a total photoperiod of 20
hours light and four hour darkness. Lighting for some more time beyond natural day length is
recommended to facilitate added feed intake and improved growth rate.
Feeding Management
Early in the morning each waterer should be cleaned, filled with fresh, clear and potable
drinking water. Watering may be done twice a day but feeding at least four times in a day. The
feeders and waterers are filled only to 2/3 capacity to prevent spillage. Broilers are generally fed
with crumbled/ pelleted feed or mash feed. Segregation of feed ingredients and feed additives can
be prevented in pellet feeding than in mash feeding. Day-old chicks are not able to digest saturated
fats therefore pre-starter and starter feeds should be prepared with high proportion of unsaturated
fats/ oils. Commercially, a three-phase feeding is being practiced viz., pre-starter (0 to 2 weeks),
starter (3 to 4 weeks) and finisher (5 to 6 weeks). Feeding and watering may be done at the same
time, every day. During summer, feed consumption decreases and water consumption increases;
whereas, during winter or rainy season the water consumption decreases and feed consumption
increases. Feeders and waterers may be positioned at appropriate level so that the birds find them
comfortable to use. Make provisions to adjust the height of feeders/ waterers so that their brim is
hiked to the level of the back of the bird.
Types of diet Crude Protein Energy
Pre-starter 23% 2950 kcal/kg
Starter 21% 3050 kcal/kg
Finisher 19% 3150 kcal/kg
Average daily feed consumption of broilers
Days Broilers (gm)
0-7 15-20
7-14 35-40
14-21 70-75
21-28 80-85
28-35 130-140
35-42 140-200
Commercial broilers (Body weight and FCR)
Age Feed consumption Cumulative Body weight (g) Feed conversion
(wks) (weekly), g feed (g) ratio
1. 120 120 170 1.17
2. 300 420 500 1.28
3. 500 920 850 1.39
4. 600 1520 1350 1.48
5. 1150 2670 1875 1.61
6. 1050 3820 2400 1.69
Nutrient Requirement of Broilers (BIS, 2007)
Pre-starter Starter Finisher
Protein (%) 23 22 20
ME (kcal/kg) 3000 3100 3200
Lysine (%) 1.3 1.2 1.1
Methionine (%) 0.5 0.5 0.45
Calcium (%) 1.0 1.0 1.0
Available phosphorus (%) 0.45 0.45 0.45
Vaccination programme
Age Name of the vaccine Route
0 day Marek’s disease vaccine (HVT) S/c neck region
5 to 7 days Ranikhet disease vaccine (Lasota) Intra-occular/ intra nasal
14 day Infectious Bursal disease vaccine Intra ocular/ Intra nasal
25 to 28 days Ranikhet disease vaccine (La sota) Intra ocular/ intra nasal
GROWER MANAGEMENT
Ex. No.
Date
What is grower?
The period after brood till attainment of sexual maturity is termed as growing period. The
brood chicks are transferred to grower house and reared till laying starts. The management
practices adopted during this period is known as grower management. The grower chicks are also
known as ‘replacement pullets’ as they replace the old layers in the farm.
Types of grower house
• Grower house is a separate unit or house where the chicks/ pullets (7-9 to 18-20 weeks) are
reared till they start laying
• Brood- Grow house is one of the types of housing where the birds to be used as breeder are
moved to a permanent laying quarter at 10 weeks of age, and the birds grow there and lay
eggs
• Brood-Grow-Lay house is one of the type of housing where the birds are confined to the
same house from day 1 till the end of the laying year.
Lighting management for growers
One 40-watt incandescent bulb or 13-watt CFL bulb per 100 sq.ft. should be used to provide
0.5 to 1.0 foot candle light at bird’s eye level. The bulb should be located at the height of 7 to 8
feet. During the growing period of 7- 9 weeks to 18-20 weeks, 8 hours of light/ day is necessary.
No supplementary light is needed during growing period. After 18-20 weeks, duration of light
should be increased at the rate of 30 minutes per week till it becomes 16 hours which is considered
as optimum for egg production. Dark phase is important as during this phase pineal gland releases
melatonin hormone which is associated with immunity.
• Never increase the duration or intensity of light during the growing period
• Never decrease duration or intensity of light during production period
Methods of feeding of growers
1) Whole grain feeding: This method involves supplying of all the ingredients of poultry
ration in separate hoppers.
2) Grain and mash method: This is a common method of feeding grower and layer birds
and slightly better method than the whole grain feeding. This method involves feeding of
grains or grain mixture along with balanced mash.
3) All mash method or mash feeding: Growing birds are fed by this method. The mash is
fed in the following two ways.
a) Dry mash method: The feed ingredients are ground to appropriate size, mixed in
required proportion and fed to poultry as a single balanced mixture. The method is
desired for poultry growers under deep litter and cage system as the birds cannot
have the opportunity to have selective feeding.
b) Wet mash method: The dry mash is wet with water and fed. This system improves
the consumption of feed during the hotter months of the year and reduces the feed
wastage.
4) Pellet method: Pellet method of feeding involves pelleting the dry mash under high
pressure. Pelleting has the following advantages: a) more feed consumption, b) it reduces
labour and handling cost of feed, c) it reduces feed waste and eliminates selective eating
by birds and d) it enhances the availability of energy and increases the acceptability of
comparatively unpalatable ingredients in the feed. The main disadvantages of pelleting is
that it is about 10% more expensive than that of mash feed.
Feed restriction in growers
Restricted feeding is followed in egg type pullets to control the required growth. The
following are the different ways to restrict feed in pellets:
• Restrict the feed intake everyday
• Skip feeding entirely every other day
• Varying the nutrients density
Level of inclusion of common poultry feed ingredients
Feed ingredient % inclusion Feed ingredient % inclusion
Maize 60 Mustard cake 1 to 5
Sorghum 30 to 40 Coconut cake 5 to 10
Bajra 10 to 20 Cotton seed cake (decorticated) 1 to 10
Wheat 50 Tapioca meal 5 to 15
Rice 40 Soyabean meal 40
De-oiled rice bran 10 to 20 Fish meal 5 to 10
Rice polish 10 to 30 Meat meal 5 to 10
Groundnut cake 10 to 30 Blood meal 3
Sunflower cake 10 to 20 Silkworm pupae meal 6
Safflower cake 5 to 15 Maize gluten 1 to 10
Molasses 1 to 5
LAYER MANAGEMENT
Ex. No.
Date
Grower birds are transferred to layer houses at the end of 18th/ 20th week after proper
deworming and dipping and protective vaccination. Layers can be reared both on deep litter and
in cages.
Nest boxes made of G.I or aluminium sheets may be provided at 45 cm height, one for every three
to five birds. The layers have to be trained to get into the nest box for laying eggs. Otherwise, eggs
laid on the floor have higher chances of breakage. The mouth of the box should be of 30 cm width
with a depth of 20 cm. Some litter material may be spread inside the nest boxes. Some farmers
even tend to use pots as nest boxes as they provide cooler atmosphere to the birds experiencing
stress while laying eggs.
Good layers Vs Poor layers
Parameter Good layers Poor layers
General health Active and alert Dull, sluggish and depressed
Comb and wattle Large, red, waxy, hot sensation Small, less developed,
discoloration, cold sensation
Body weight 1.5 to 2.0 kg Overweight or underweight
Vent Oblong, pink, moist, no Less oblong, pigmentation
pigmentation
Distance between two pubic ≥ 3 fingers 1 to 2 fingers
bones
Distant between keel bone and ≥ 4 fingers ≤ 3 fingers
pubic bone
Abdominal skin Thin, soft, pliable Thick, rough, hard
Lighting management: Artificial lighting has to be provided during laying stage by a minimum
of one 40 watt bulb for every 100 sq.ft area. Start giving 30 minutes additional lighting per week
and go on increasing it until a total day length (natural day length + duration of artificial lighting)
of 16 hours per day is reached (step-up- lighting programme). It may be maintained at the level till
72 weeks of age. For egg lines 16 h day light and for meat lines 15 to 15 half h day light is required.
Dubbing: Removing the comb, known as dubbing is a practiced by many poultry men to prevent
comb from being injured during fighting, pecking, when comb comes in contact with feeder and
waterer grills and with wires in cages. Dubbing is best done on day-old chicks although it may be
completed during the first few weeks but hemorrhage may be severe after the first day. It can be
done with a pair of manicuring scissors, cut the comb off close to the head of day-old chick,
running the scissors from the front to the back of the comb.
Debeaking: It is removal of tip of the beak of the birds.
Methods of debeaking
• Debeaking with a hot blade: To debeak a bird, an electrically controlled cauterizing blade
is used at a temperature of 15000F (8150C)
• Black debeaking at 6 to 8 days: This is probably the best procedure for pullets to be used
for egg production. At this stage the chicks are easy to handle. The chicks are debeaked
with an electric debeaking machine having a guide plate with 0.44 cm hole.
• High-speed debeaking of day-old chicks: This method uses a high voltage arc across two
electrodes to burn a hole in the upper beak. Up to 2000 chicks can be debeaked in an hour.
• Notch-type debeaking of day-old chicks:Electrically done on day-old chicks at the
hatchery. Rather than severing the beak, a special blunt blade burns an area near the tip of
the upper beak.
• Debeaking between 2 and 10 weeks: Electric debeaking machine is used where one third
to one half of the beak is removed. For older birds, cut 3/16 to ¼ inch (0.45 to 0.63 cm) in
front of the nostrils, cutting the lower beak slightly longer than the upper beak.
Toe-clipping: It is best done at hatchery on 6 to 8 day old chicks. The inside and back toes of all
breeding males should be clipped to prevent tearing the backs of the females during mating. Toe
clipping in layer birds on day-old chicks increases egg production up to 15 eggs per annum.
Layer performance under optimal conditions
Age in weeks Hen day egg Feed intake per Water intake per
production (%) 1000 birds (kg) 1000 birds (litre)
20 5-10 70-75 150-160
21 10 75 160
22 18 85 180
23 34 96 210
24 55 105 240
25 68 109 260
26 76 113 280
27 84 115 290
28 88 115 300
29 90 115 310
30 92 115 320
31 94 115 320
32-39 92 110 310
40-47 86 107 290
48-59 82 105 270
60-64 76 103 260
65-70 70 101 240
71-76 65 96 240
Feeding of birds at different stages of Laying
Feeding of birds is a vital feature as feed cost alone accounts for 70% of the total farm
expenses. Poultry feeds are basically categorized as below:
• Starting poultry feed (chick starter): A ration to be fed to chicks up to 8 weeks of age.
• Growing poultry feed (grower feed): A ration after 8 weeks until laying commences (8-
16 weeks).
• Pre-laying feed: A ration during pullet stage (17-20 weeks)
• Laying poultry feed: A ration to laying birds after 20 weeks (laying commences).
1. First phase of laying 21-45 weeks
2. Second phase of laying 48-60 weeks of age
3. Third phase of laying 61 weeks to culling
Types of feed Crude protein (%) Energy
Chick feed 19% 2900 kcal/kg
Grower feed 17% 2700 kcal/kg
Pre-lay feed 17% 2700 kcal/kg
Phase I 16% 2575 kcal/kg
Phase II 15% 2545 kcal/kg
Feed intake
Feed intake is an important factor in the economic production of eggs. Generally, a White
Leghorn consumes 8 kg feed up to 20 weeks of age and 39 kg during 360 days (about 110 g/
bird/ day or 130 g/ egg and producing 300 eggs per year) of laying phase. However, feed intake
is governed by many factors such as dietary energy and protein concentration, environmental
temperature and humidity, stress, vaccination, beak trimming and disease etc.
Specification for layer feed (BIS standards 2007)
Sl.No. Nutrient Chick Grower Layer
1. Moisture (%) 11.0 11.0 Phase I Phase II
2. Crude protein (%) 20.0 16.0 18.0 16.0
3. Ether extract (%) 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
4. Crude fibre (%) 7.0 9.0 9.0 10.0
5. Salt (%) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
6. Metabolizable energy 2800 2500 2600 2400
(kcal/kg)
Medication used in layer birds
To protect the birds from Acaridia galli and other nematodes or cestodes, the medication
most commonly used in poultry are:
• Oxyteteracycline @ 200mg to 1000mg per gallon of water; withdrawal time is 5 days
• Gallimycin in water or feed against Mycoplasma; withdrawal time is 1 day
• Amprolium for treating coccidiosis @ 0.0125% in feed
• Sulfaquinoxaline or Sulfamethazine in water or feed; less safe; somewhat toxic to bone
marrow; withdrawal time is 10 days.
• Tramizol @20 mg/ bird/ day (1 g powder per gallon of water for 1 to 2 days)
• Neomycin in water or feed; good against E. coli
• Albendazole/ Fenbendazole are generally used for deworming
Vaccination Programme
Age Name of the vaccine Route Dose/ bird
0-1 day Marek’s disease (MD) S/C neck region 0.2 ml/ chick
vaccine (HVT)
5-7 days Ranikhet disease vaccine Intra-occular/ intra- One drop each
(RDVK/ Lasota) nasal
14 days Infectious Bursal Disease Intra- ocular/ intra- One drop each
vaccine nasal/ spray
28 days Ranikhet disease vaccine Intra-occular/ intra- One drop each
(RDVK/ Lasota) nasal
35 days Infectious Bursal disease Intra-occular/ intra One drop each
nasal/ spray
42 days Fowl pox vaccine Wing web 0.1 to 0.2 ml
8 to 10 weeks Ranikhet Disease vaccine S/c or I/m 0.5 ml
8 weeks Infectious Bronchitis (IBH- Intra-occular One drop
120) Vaccine
