POULTRY AND EGG MANAGEMENT

1. General management in poultry
By Dr. Seema Rana

2. Egg Industry
 In egg industry, most laying hens are hybrid-
 White Leghorns/sex-linked hybrids -New Hampshire Reds Barred
Plymouth Rocks.
 Sex-linking - plumage trait (slow feathering, color pattern linked to
the sex chromosome)
 Distinct physical difference in sexes of day-old chicks.
 Easy to separate the females for egg production
 Saves time and money
 Today's egg producing hens over 300 eggs per year

3. Primary Breeders
 The primary breeders, multiplier flocks- International breeder
 Breeders- slatted floor house
 automatic watering, feeding, egg collection systems
 The slatted floors allow the birds
 to actively function on a floor surface
 manure to fall through the slats into a manure pit.
Keeps the birds and eggs cleaner.
Males and females- mate naturally.
Females produces eggs at 20-85 weeks of age.

4. Primary breeders
white-shelled and brown-shelled egg lines are produced depending on the
desired egg market.
Color of the egg shell - the breed of bird
Brown egg birds are slightly less efficient at egg production per pound of feed
than are white egg producers
Brown egg laying breeds are larger bodied and require more feed for body
maintenance.

5.  Automatic Watering
 Automatic Feeding
 Egg collection system

6. Fertile egg: 23 - 32 hours
The eggs are automatically collected daily
Transported to the hatchery, stored at 55-65° F and 70% humidity
Eggs held for 3-7 days prior to placing in an incubator. One fertile hatching egg is worth $.28 and weighs
around 60g

7. Hatching & Incubation
Hatchery
• breeder company owns a hatchery
• For layer chick production
Incubator
• At controlled environment
• Day 18-Transferred to Hatching Basket
• 21st Day-Chicks hatch
Removal
• Removed from the hatchers
• Processed

8. Processing
Sexing Separating males &
females
Vaccination
Basket Counted - placed
in baskets
delivered to farm in
12-48 hours of
hatch.
Pullet
chick
weighs- 35-
40g
$.65 to $.75
Sex-link
plumage
colour genes
Females-Red
Males-White
Determine
the sex

9. .
.
The international layer breeding
sell these chicks to farms that control the
rest of the birds' life
Some companies specialize in raising pullets
until they begin laying and then sell the
started pullets to the egg farm

10. Pullet Rearing
The chicks –in a
cage/floor rearing house
(Depending on which
environment they will be
raised as adults).
The pullets are raised -first
18 weeks under
environmentally controlled
conditions.
(daylight length is
extremely important-Not
more than 10 hours of daily
light)
To prevent premature
stimulation to lay eggs
During 18-week grow-
out period, white egg
pullets -11.5 lbs feed
each 3.4 lbs, valued at
$3.50.
Brown egg pullets -
13.2lbs feed,- 4.4 lbs,
valued at $3.75.
At 18 weeks- sold to a
layer farm or company

11. Egg production
Brown egg layers had higher sized body
Eat 3 pounds of feed /dozen eggs Eat 3.4 pounds of feed /dozen eggs laid
Flocks to begin laying at around 20 weeks of age,Till 60-65 weeks
White egg birds lay 260-285 eggs/year
Brown egg layers will lay 240-280
eggs/year
Pullets at layer house
Fed a layer ration high in calcium Daily Light-stimulate egg production (14-16hrs)

12. Laying
Cycle
• The hens lay for 60-65
weeks
• Then- rested or molted
• (Forced to stop laying
at the same time)
• Allow to rebuild
calcium stores and
restore body condition
Another
Laying
Cycle
•Hens are then brought
back into production- for
another laying cycle
•Depending on
numerous economic
factors, hens are kept for
one to three laying
cycles
Laying
cycle
and
egg
quality
• Hens lay for a shorter
time
• Lay poorer quality eggs
in subsequent cycles
• Eggs are usually a bit
larger as hens age.
• Replaced with a new
flock.

13. Egg collection
Collection
• Eggs are automatically collected daily on belts and rollers into an egg processing room connected to the hen houses
processing room
• machines wash, grade, and sort the eggs by size and package the eggs for the whole egg market
Liquid egg
• Some modern egg breaking plants do not carton the eggs but break them into liquid eggs for pasteurizing inline
• Consumer carton eggs are shipped to the store within four days of collection

14.  Further processing changes the product into more convenient or useful form
 Liquid and dried eggs are used in a wide array of consumer products.
 Convenient pre-cooked egg products are also more common at food stores and
restaurants.
 Adds more value to the final product

15.  https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=uUdMua9yT-4

17. Backyard
poultry
Farm flock Commercial
poultry farm
Specialized
egg
production
Integrated egg
production
Subdivision of
egg
Pullet growing,
Feed
production
Hatchery
production
separate from
farming
Feed
production
separate from
poultry farms
Chicken meat
production
becomes
independent
egg
Separate
enterprises
reintegrated as
a business
Main
management
characteristic
Natural
hatching
Artificial
Hatching and
sexing
Feed mixing Egg processing
plant
Controlled
environment
houses
Type of
farming
Subsistence
farming
Mixed farming Joint egg and
meat
production
Eggs
industry(single
commodity)
Egg complex
Labour Part-time Part-time Full-time Division of
management
and labour
Separate daily
work

18. Types of poultry
• Subsistence farming-Birds in free range, hatch own eggs
• Diet supplemented with crop waste or food leftovers
• Labour-part time
Backyard poultry
• more specialized
• Eggs hatched at a separate location- the hatch and sexing are
controlled
Farm flock production
• Labour- full time
• producing on a sufficient scale for the sale of both eggs and poultry
meat
Commercial poultry farm
Specialised Eggs
Integrated egg production
•Separating poultry for meat and egg production
•specialized employees oversee specific aspects of egg
production
•Most Advanced enterprise
•Involves feeding and mechanized egg collection methods

19.  Major-Backyard poultry & farm flock production
 Poultry and egg sectors are highly fragmented
 Most production: Large farmers with small flocks
 Day Old chicks- From local hatcheries
 Farmers choose between chicks varieties for egg and meat

20. Chicks-
In separate house from laying chickens
Need to protect from predators, disease,
Stage in A. brooding-8 weeks
1st 4 weeks- in brooding box
2nd 4 Weeks in brooding houses
Need to properly manage the growers-
reproductive organs develop-Affect egg
production capacity
Grower stage- 8-20weeks-in brooders house

21. Brooding managment
 Starts egg laying-18Weeks- Small eggs and unmarketable
Commercial laying stage-21weeks
Brooding Management - critical task, (before and after arrival in the broader house)
If farmers fail to provide appropriate conditions before landing chicks in the brooder
house, the business would lose at the endpoint

22.  . Brooding Management
 .
 Some basic points about brooding management
 All necessary items such as litter, paper, chick guard, water, hover, food container should be placed in the proper
place three hours in advance.
 Turn on the hover lights two to three hours in advance and check the thermometer readings an hour later.
Normally, set the lights according to the weather. For instance, 1watt/chicks are enough for the summer or hot
season and 2-3 watt/ chicks for the winter season.
 Half an hour before the baby arrives, lightly placed the paper around and inside the brooder with a probiotic or
without soluble in water.
 The baby should be placed in the proper place for 5 minutes before the baby arrives. Try to place the broader
in the middle of the shed.
 After the baby arrives, put the baby on the farm before placing the hoover with the box for about 5 minutes.
 Then weigh each box with the baby and record in the box with the box number followed by the removal of the
empty box weight and you will gain the weight of the baby one day.

23. Water Management
 Water - important factor for Broiler chicken.
 For faster growth in short time, water requirement for Broiler chicken is crucial.
 The general function of water -to transport Oxygen, nutrients, drugs vaccines, and
other physiologic activities to maintain proper health conditions.
 Water must be free from infectious pathogens (such as virus, bacteria, fungus,
protozoa, etc),
 heavy metals ( Na, K, iron, P, CA, etc), soil, urine, fecal material, etc.
 water deprivation lead to coccidiosis.

24. Water quality management
 Following steps to ensure standard water quality, hygienic, pathogen-free, dust, and other particles:
 Washing drinkers
 Wash and disinfect chick drinkers daily.
 Use a reliable water sanitizer like chlorine to control disease-causing organisms in the water.
 Ensure the drinkers are filled with fresh water after washing and never allow the drinkers to go dry.
 Water distribution
 Distribute drinkers evenly, alternating with the feeders - easily accessible to all birds.
 The furthest distance to the next waterer or drinker should be 1.5 meters.
 Provide one chick fount for 75 chicks during the first week
 Gradually replace them with the regular drinkers.
 Always adjust the drinkers and feeders levels as the birds grow to ensure that the equipment is always slightly
above the level of the birds’ backs to minimize spillage.

25. Litter Management
 Litter material - Sawdust and paddy husk -should spread to 5cm length
 Too dry and dusty Litter-indicate not drinking enough water
 Too much dusty material may lead to respiratory problems
 Moldy material should not be used.
 The litter should be stirred at frequent intervals to prevent caking.
 Wet litters should be removed immediately and replaced by dry new litter to prevent ammoniacal
odor.

26. Coccidiosis prevention and control
 Coccidiosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Eimeria spp in poultry. Its a
very important disease that is more related to the economy.
 Coccidia is a parasite that a host for completing the life cycle & survived into
poultry.
 It is prevented by the proper use of coccidiostat in feed and control by the water
medication.
 The common feed coccidiostat are maduramycin, semduramycin, monensin,
lasalocid, clpidole, etc
 during outbreak, water medication by the various types of anticoccidial drugs.
example Toltrazuril, diclazuril, sulfar drugs etc.

27. Feeding management
 Proper feeder line height - should corresponding to the height of the birds
 helps to reduce feed wastage and mixing feed with litter, and ensures that all birds have
access to feed.
 Feeding Programs of Poultry
 Feed from day-old until marketing –specific feeding programme.
 Every chicken/Commercial species -limited feeding programs & schedule at a definite
time.
 Feeding programs of differents species and measures
 How Much Chicken Feed Per Day on a particular breed.
 Feeding programs for Broilers
 Broiler chicks – fed ad libitum for 42 to 56 d to an average weight of 4 to 5 lb.
 Feed represents 60 to 75% of the total production cost. Fed conversion – about 1.5-2.0
 Use a 3-stage feeding program (starter, grower, and finisher)
 The starter for the first 2 to 3 wk, the grower for about 2 wk, and the finisher for the
remainder.

28.  Laying Hens
 Higher concentrations of vitamins (A, D, E, B2, B5, B3, and B12)
 Mn & Zn would be required if eggs are to be used for hatching.
 White Leghorn – 18 g of protein/bird/day to support optimum egg production, thus with a 15%
CP diet, must consume ≈ 25 to 26 lb of feed/100 birds/day
 Met – The first limiting amino acid and economical to use synthetic Met & its analogs
 Ca requirement – Varies with the age, ambient temperature, rate of lay, and egg size, but a
recommendation is 3.4 g Ca/d & 3.8 g Ca/d after 40 wk of age.

29. Lighting Management
 Lights installed in the poultry house has important role in efficiency.
 The distance between bulbs should be 1½ times the distance from the bulb to the bird’s level.
 The distance from the bulbs to the outer edges of the house should be- ½ the distance between
bulbs.
 In a cage system- the bulbs should be placed in such a way that their rays fall on the feed and on the
birds.
 Clean reflectors increase the light intensity at bird level by 50%, compared with no reflector.
 Avoid cone shape reflectors- confine the light rays to a limited area.
 Better to use a flat-type reflector with a rounded edge.
 In the case of a deep litter system -the bulb is to be placed at 7-8’ height whereas in a cage house,
keep it in an aisle.
 Avoid hanging bulbs by a cord in open houses
 Very dirty bulbs emit about 1/3 less light than clean bulbs.
 Light bulbs should be cleaned once in two weeks.