Management and Husbandry Practices in Broiler Production. Pacific Feeds Limited Management and Husbandry Practices in Broiler Production. Income Generation Project - Osica -Japan – Sigatoka Valley.

Company Brief Pacific Feeds Limited is a private organization (Locally owned) and has been in business of producing poultry, pig, dairy, tilapia and prawn feeds for the last 7 years. Our main focus is assisting and providing farmers with all their necessities to generate income for their livelihood. PFL has its own feed manufacturing plant in Lami where all feeds are produced. Our feed diets are done by very reputable nutritionist who are based in New Zealand and Australia. PFL also has its own hatchery producing quality day old chicks for Fiji and Pacific Island markets as per customer demand and import all fertile eggs for Incubation from New Zealand. We also keep a wide range of poultry equipments such as , feeders, drinkers , poultry medication and Layer cages.

Company Products Large hanging Feeders for broilers and Layers Large supplementary drinker Large hanging Feeders for broilers and Layers

Product con’t 20 Small Feeders Small supplementary drinker

Product cont. Automatic Bell Drinker Plucking Machine (5 birds/min)

Product cont. MOBA Egg grading machine with printing facility The picture on the right shows how the printer works . It can display Farm Name, Date of production and Expiry date

Product con’t 8ft 10ft 11ft 3 tier layer cage, 90 bird capacity. Very ideal for small scale or new farmers. Easily fits in 10 x 11 sqft shed. Recommend shed height of 8ft. These are minimum requirement .

Product con’t 2 tier cage ( 80 bird capacity ). All fit out assisted by our team

Feed Mill Feed Mill – capacity to produce any type of quality Livestock feed .

Introduction There is nothing quite so helpless in this world as a baby chick which has been snatched from the warmth of its surrogated mother, carted up to hundreds of kilometres in a box or basket and dumped unceremoniously in a shed or a pen and then told to get on with the job of making the boss a wealthy man.

Within the space of 14 days, that same chick, under optimum conditions, will increased its day-old body mass ten times by putting on weight at an average rate of one gram per hour or slightly more, costing its owner no more than 1-3 grams of feed per hour! As man say “time is money”. There is only one creature that I know of that can generate those sort of returns in the same period of time, with probably even less effort, and those are the type of chicks that we have pride in supplying to our proud farmers from Hatchery and Feed mill.

Brooding Generally considered as the period of time from placement to 14 days and perhaps the most important time in birds life. It is a period of transition from an Incubator to farm environment The aim of brooding is to provide the baby chick the right temperature zone which falls between 31-33 degree under the brooder. Temperature above 33 degree and below 30 degree , the chick is not capable of maintaining the body temperature. Mistakes made during this critical time may be irreversible and will have negative impact on bird performance. In most cases here in Fiji we either brood too cold ( have chill effect ) or brood too hot.

Brooder setup Spread at least 3 inches of dry wood shaving to the brooder area Spread paper and distribute feeder s and drinkers

Brooder set up Place the chicks on the paper with care Ensure to achieve good Chick spread Place the chicks on the paper with care Observe chick after placement

Proper Brooding

First 2 weeks of chicks life A) Immune system Passive immunity is occurring as a result of the transfer of antibodies from the hen (mother) through yolk absorption. Active immunity is developing after vaccination in the hatchery and exposure to field pathogen. B) Digestive System Rapid internal growth for digestion ( liver, intestine, pancreas, spleen and Bursa) C) Skeletal System Rapid growth and thickening of long bones required for leg strength and mineral metabolism.

Providing active immunity to all chicks supplied by Pacific Feeds Limited.

Digestive system of a Chicken

Con’t D) Thermo regulation Chicks do not have ability to regulate body temperature for the first 5 days and thermo regulation is not fully developed until 2 weeks of age. Chick survival and their performance is highly dependant on the farmer to provide the proper environment temperature

A Cold Brooder Chicks hurdling for warmth as they cant regulate their body temperature

Effects of Improper brooding Improper Brooding practises can result in – Poor liveability Poor flock uniformity Poor performance in Pullets ( layer farmers) Impact of Early stress may not be seen until much later in birds life In- Sufficient feed amount , feeder space and floor space will affect feed intake, weight gain and uniformity. NB : Good early protein intake has an effect on weight, flock uniformity and egg production.

Role of Thumb Obtaining a good body weight at 7 days is an excellent indicator of how successful brooding management has been – Target body weight at 7 days is approximately 4 times the day old weight at placement. If not achieved , pre-placement and brooding management techniques should be looked into.

Brooding Fundamentals Assist in maximizing performance and minimizing cost. Pre-Placement The key to successful performance of all birds starts well before chicks arrive at the farm- Shed/pan should be clean, disease free and Bio-Secure before placing the chick. Entire floor should be covered with 3-4 inches of dry wood shavings and spread evenly. Uneven litter can stop chick movement and restrict access to feed and water. Seal brooding area and maintain floor temperature at around 31-32 degree.

Con’t Water lines should be thoroughly cleaned, sanatized and flushed before chicks are placed. Stocking density should take into consideration environmental / local climatic condition Stocking density Floor space – 1 bird per 1 sqft eg a 10ft x 10ft shed is 100 sqft of floor space i.e. You can place 100 broiler chick and grow them until 5 weeks achieving body weight of around 1.8kg NB keeping birds more than 5 weeks require more floor space during hot weather ( Nov – April)

Feeder requirement – 1 large feeder per 30 birds Con’t Feeder requirement – 1 large feeder per 30 birds Automatic bell drinker - 50-60 birds per 1 drinker 2) Feed Management use supplementary feeder trays at placement to help chicks get off to the best start possible. Trays should be provided for the first 7 days and gradually removed by 10th day. Feed never should run empty and remain fresh at all times , never allow it to become stale or mouldy. It is good management practise to gently walk chicks 2-3 times per day to help stimulate feed and water consumption.

Pliable indicating chicks have successfully located feed and water. Con’t The crops of chicks should be checked the morning after placement (“Chick Check”) to ensure they have found feed and water. At this time, a minimum of 95% of the crops should feel soft Pliable indicating chicks have successfully located feed and water. Hard crops indicate chicks have not found adequate water and water availability should be checked immediately. Feed Rations – Broiler starter crumble from day old to 17 days or have achieved 700 g of body weight which ever is earlier.

Crop Fill After 24 Hours The chick on the left has a full, rounded crop while the chick on the right has an empty crop.

Con’t Broiler Grower – from 18th day to 28th day and Broiler Finisher from 29th day onwards until sold or slaughtered for consumption, The feed time should be consistent from day to day and feed should be distributed evenly to all birds throughout the house The feeder height should be adjusted throughout the growing period so that the lip of the feeder is level with the birds back at all times.

3) Lighting Management in broilers Birds require around 23 to 24 hrs of light for the first 3 days after placement. 4-7 weeks 16 hrs of light is sufficient 8 weeks of age onwards 12 hours or on natural day length. 4) Water Management provide easy access to fresh clean water so that feed intake and growth are maintained. Supplemental drinkers are highly recommended at placement and should be provided at the rate of 1 per 50 chicks from day old to 7 days

Con’t Begin raising drinker heights from 5th day so that the lip is at back height of the chicks . Damp litter under the water source indicates drinkers are set too low. Excessively dry litter under drinkers may indicate water level is too low. Water consumption should equal approximately 2 times the feed intake ( rule of thumb)

5) Temperature Management the ideal floor temperature should be at least 90 °F (32 °C). Observe chicks and adjust for their comfort, making sure not to overheat. Chicks that become overheated or chilled will experience problems such as pasting, unabsorbed yolks, stress and dehydration. An excellent indicator of floor temperature is the temperature of the chick’s feet. If the feet are cold, re evaluate the heating system and litter temperature. If they are comfortably warm, the chicks should be actively moving around the brooding area.

Ideal Temperature

Poor brooding Temperature

Con’t 6) Ventilation Day old chicks are very susceptible to drafts during the first week of life. Ammonia levels should be closely monitored in the shed and should be released quickly. Parameters of good Air Quality in shed Oxygen > 19.6 % Carbon dioxide < 0.3%/3000 ppm Carbon monoxide < 10 ppm Ammonia < 10 ppm Relative Humidity >< 45-65%

Well ventilated

Con’t Birds are 36 days old in this pan

Con’t Poor air quality during rearing will negatively affect pullet/ cockerel health and performance and can also have an adverse effect on overall flock productivity in terms of egg production and liveability. Poor Air quality can potentially result in damage to the respiratory and immune systems.

Summary The first 4 weeks of a baby chick’s life is a critical time that contributes to the overall flock productivity. At placement, baby chicks are entirely dependent on grower management for survival. The objective of the brooding period is to create the ideal environmental conditions where the chick does not have to make a choice. Grower attention to detailed management is essential to accomplishing this objective

Chick at comfort

Infectious Bursal Disease ( Gumboro) Layer’s Marek's Chicken – N- Pox Con’t All chicks leaving our hatchery are vaccinated against the following disease – Broiler’s Marek’s Disease Chick –N- Pox Infectious Bursal Disease ( Gumboro) Layer’s Marek's Chicken – N- Pox IBD

Management Practises Open discussion session. Indentify issues in regards to management practises as seen in the picture

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Thank you Look forward to see more Broiler and Layer farmers starting their farms and start producing the best protein source at their back yard. Pacific Feeds Limited appreciates your business and wish you all in your new poultry Business My contact.( Deo Raj Lal ) Ph 9990650

The End Reference : 1. Cobb and Ross management guide 2. Pictures from various farms