Family Poultry Training Course/Trainers' Manual - Commercial Broiler Production

From Poultry Hub

Intensive poultry farming is usually divided into specialised operations, although some farmers may be interested in keeping poultry for both meat and eggs. For meat production, the chicks have been selected for rapid growth, breast meat and usually lean meat (low fat). They will not lay many eggs. An important rule - of - thumb is that the farmer is kind to his/her birds and looks after them like part of the family. They will then respond and serve the farmer well.

The approximate composition of a 1.8 kg broiler chicken is:

Water	64%	1152kg
Fat	14%	252g
Protein	18%	324g
Bone ash	4%	72g

The very high amount of water is associated with the lean meat (no fat) of which water is about 80% and protein 20%. The birds are brooded on a starter diet for about 2-3 weeks. They are then given a grower diet and sometimes a finisher diet for the final 7-10 days. As mentioned, as they age, their nutrient needs decline. This means that older chickens can handle poorer quality feeds better than younger birds. Mortality is normally 3-5% and most of this occurs during week 1. Poultry production targets in most developing countries will be lower than in temperate climates. Typical figures for growth and feed conversion ratio (FCR, kg feed per kg gain) in good commercial production are:

Days	Weight	Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR)
0-21	900g	1.42
21-43	2.3kg	1.85

The implications are that there is a requirement for a very high-quality feed if maximum growth rate is to be achieved (this may not be possible or desirable in some countries due to high temperature or feed ingredients are very costly).

You will see that there is very high feed intake during the last 2-3 weeks of production and growth then slows. The message is that keeping birds beyond normal slaughter age (7-8 weeks) is expensive and often the difference between a profit and a loss.

In a survey of 37 small batches (50 – 200) of broilers grown around Lae in Papua New Guinea, birds reached 1.85 kg (range 1.68-2.18) in 53 days (range 44-67). Feed intake was 4.73 kg (range 3.5-6.7). Feed conversion ratio was 2.56 (range 1.91-3.49). Mortality was 7.1% (range 2.9-17.3). The wide variation is due to different levels of management, feeding and housing conditions. Good results will only come from well cared for flocks. (“The eye of the farmer fattens his stock”)

Chicks must get off to a good start and good management is very important especially during the first week of life.

Before the chicks arrive, their house must be clean and ready to receive them. Shavings (5 cm thick), or other litter should be in place and old litter removed every second batch of chicks. • The brooder heat lamp or kerosene lamp must be checked, adjusted and switched on • The circular (1.2 m diameter/100 chicks) brooder guard that surrounds the heating unit must be in place • Within the brooder there should be two drinkers and two feeders adjusted to chick height and adjusted again each week • A commercial starter diet should be fed at least for the first two weeks • For the first few days, the feed should be placed on paper spread on the ground, or in scratch trays as well as in the feeders within the brooding area so that they can peck at the feed • Chicks should be encouraged to drink. If reluctant place the beak in the water trough/tray • Check chicks several times during the day and again at night • On day 4, make the brooding circle a little larger as chicks are growing fast • Chicks should be using the feeders although a few may be still eating off the paper • Brooder temperature should be reduced but chicks will indicate this by their behaviour • At 7-10 days remove brooder guard and remove heating unit at the same time • At least 10 chickens/batch of 50 should be weighed (spring balance) at 4 weeks of age (700 g/bird) and again at 7 weeks (1600-1880 g) to gauge performance • Catch birds using a 1.2 m wire with a hook on the end [see diagram] • Start selling off the heaviest broilers at about 7 weeks of age

[Unit V. Trainer will demonstrate brooding, catching and weighing birds.]

Marketing

There will be much information from the feasibility study on how broilers are sold. A small commercial broiler producer may have four options 1. Sell them alive on a bird or weight basis to a consumer- usually best option 2. Sell them to a trader 3. Sell them oven ready - plucked and eviscerated (without feathers, guts and organs) - labour intensive but usually the highest price 4. Sell them live to an abattoir for processing

It is possible to alter the colour of the skin of broiler chickens by adding a colouring agent to the feed or the feed ingredients (corn) may contain xanthophylls, natural colouring agents. Consumers may be used to buying broilers with white or yellow skins others don’t care.

Manure

A single batch of 100 broilers will produce in 10 weeks about 100 kg of deep litter especially rich in nitrogen. It should not be wasted and can be used as a fertiliser or to make compost when mixed with other organic matter (inedible kitchen waste, tops of vegetables, leaves etc) for your garden. The composition of the poultry litter varies but is about: 3% nitrogen, 2% phosphorus and 1% potassium. It has a commercial value and can be sold to vegetable growers. [Families should be encouraged to have a garden and add litter to grow fruit and vegetables]

Record keeping

It is important to keep good records of broiler performance. A sample of a record sheet covering a single batch of broilers is given for the full period (batch) at the end of this manual • record when you open a new batch of feed of known weight • mark when a bird dies or is removed from the pen • record weight of birds when weighed at 4 and 7 weeks • At 4 weeks take a sample of say 10 birds in a batch of 50 and weigh them • divide total bird weight by number of birds weighed to get average broiler weight • add up all feed used (weight of bag x number of bags) then divide by total weight of birds, then by the number of birds • Feed conversion ratio is feed consumed divided by the total weight of birds • calculate mortality (%) by dividing the number of birds at the end by the number placed in the pen at the start x 100

Mention has been made of vaccination of birds at day old. Commercial broilers will arrive already vaccinated but a vaccination program appropriate to a particular location will have to be worked out at a later date and if necessary a supply of the vaccines sourced.

Trainer will describe the current marketing of meat birds in his/her region or village and will go through a worked example of all calculations for weight gain and feed efficiency.

Next section: Unit VI-Family Poultry Training Course: Trainers' Manual - Commercial Egg Production