Broiler Chickens

What is the brooder? A home for the chicks for the first couple of weeks you are raising them Clean sawdust (wood shavings) should be in the brooder at all times It is very important that there is always food and clean water available The beginning temperature of the brooder should be 90 degrees and should be decreased by 5 degrees each week that goes by

Is the brooder too hot or too cold? Heat Lamp Too hot. Chicks avoid the heat lamp and Migrate toward the outside of the brooder. Just right. Chicks are scattered evenly throughout brooder and are eating and drinking. Too cold. Chicks are bunched up under the Heat lamp

Handling chickens When young, be careful when handling the chicks As they age, it will be more difficult to pick up and move birds Be careful of wings and nails Too much handling when older can stress the birds and cause heart attacks

How much space does a chicken need? Each chicken will need 1 square foot of space Waterers and feeders should be kept above the shavings

Bedding Maintain clean bedding Remove wet bedding daily and top dress as needed Pine shavings are the most ideal type of bedding We will have the chicks on newspaper for a few days. Why do we do this?

Feed Management Keep feed in cool and dry location – Keep off the floor – Keep out insects, rodents and other animals Fresh feed should be added at least every morning Monitor feed consumption- if birds are not eating, there might be something wrong

How much lighting do birds need? In order to reach the proper weigh on time, you should have lighting on the chickens at all times 24/7 Birds will start to gain weight very rapidly as they get older

Biosecurity Measures taken to keep diseases away from broilers – Bacteria, viruses and other disease-causing agents Three components – Isolation Keeping your flock from other animals – Traffic control Who or what visits your flock – Sanitation Keeping your equipment and buildings clean

Introduction to Poultry

Poultry involves: Egg layers Meat Chickens Turkeys Ducks Geese Quail Guineas Pheasants Squab Ratites Game birds

Broiler Production History NCC Year Days to Market Market Wt. F:GMortality Change 57%121%58%77%

Broiler Production 1934 – 11,405 hatcheries – 24,224 eggs average capacity – 276 million eggs/time

Modern Day Broiler Production 2001 – 323 hatcheries – 2.7 million eggs average capacity – 862 million eggs/time

“The Chicken of Tomorrow” Arkansas contest – Finals sponsored by the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (Supermarket Chain) – Vantress Hatchery, CA won Cornish X White Rock

USDA Labeling Broiler or fryer – Tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and flexible breastbone cartilage Roaster or roasting chicken – Tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and breastbone cartilage that may be somewhat less flexible than that of a broiler or fryer Capon – Surgically unsexed male chicken (usually under 8 months of age) that is tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin

Meat Birds Classification Age (days) Dressed Wt. (lbs) Use Cornish Whole Bird Fryer < Fast Food – 4.75 Retail (Whole, parts, cut-up)

Meat Birds Classification Age (days) Dressed Wt. (lbs) Use Roaster – 6.75 Further Processing Capon (Castrated ♂ ) Specialty

Broiler Production (Head) 0.86 billion – combined 0.5 – 0.9 billion 0.5 – 0.51 billion 1.05 – 1.38 billion Excluded < 0.5 billion NASS, 2006

Broiler Marketing National Chicken Council, 2007 Year WHOLE Cut-up Further Processing

US Per Capita Consumption USDA, 2001

U.S. Broiler Production ( ) USDA, 2000

Cycle of Broiler/Turkey Production Broiler Supply Layers Fertile Eggs Incubators Broiler Supply Pullets Broilers Chicks

Management House (40 – 60’ X 500’) – 50’ x 450’ = 30,000 broilers – Stocking density (NCC recommended) Straight Run Nutrition program Lighting regime Marketed ~42 days Prepare for next flock – 7 to 10 days – ~6 flocks/year Live Wt.Wt./ft 2 < 4.5 lbs – 5.5 lbs.7.5 > 5.5 lbs.8.5

Top 5 Broiler Companies, Tyson Foods Inc. 2 Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. 3Perdue Farms Inc. 4Sanderson Farms Inc. 5Koch Foods WATT Poultry USA (2011)