1. Kocevski Dragoslav - Drakche, Ph.D,
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE PULLET ISSUE “FROM HOUSING TO 24 WEEKS (OVER 90% PRODUCTION) – THE MOST CRITICAL PERIOD OF PULLETS / YOUNG LAYERS”
Kocevski Dragoslav - Drakche, Ph.D,
Seminar – VELES
March, 2017

2. IDEA BEHIND THE PRESENTATION
You follow the technical recommendation and guides and produce (or it has been delivered to You by other producer) PERFECT PULLET at certain age.
You expect a lot of eggs with a good size ….
Start of production is not so good and later production records disappoint You
You are blaming the Genetics
You are blaming the producer of the pullets (rearing management mistakes)
You are blaming the feed or row material quality
BUT, IS IT POSIBLE THAT YOU ARE TO BE BLAMED AND YOUR MISSMANAGEMENT IN FEW WEEKS AFTER HOUSING IS THE COSE OF THIS SITUATION??

3. IDEA BEHIND THE PRESENTATION
We all like simple things.
FARMERS like very much simple things
Experts offers complicated things
Can experts offer simple things??

4. Presentation Outline
GROWTH, TRANSFER TO LAYER HOUSE, LIGHTING - What does the management guide says 1
Key question - WHY IS THIS PERIOD HOUSING TO 24 WEEKS (OVER 90%PRODUCTION) SO IMPORTANT???
HOW TO CONTROL IT or HOW TO BALANCE AND SMOOTLY SWITCH FROM GROWTH TO PRODUCTION???? - What does the management guide says 2
How to do it practically

5. What does the management guide says 1
GROWTH, TRANSFER TO LAYER HOUSE, LIGHTING
YOU HAVE YOUR COMMERCIAL GUIDES (TECHNICAL MANUALS FOR MANAGEMENT AT DIFFERENT STAGES REARING AND LAYING)
WHAT DO THE MANUALS SAY?

6. What does the management guide says 1
GROWTH – CONTROLLED GROWTH
D GROWTH
The goal of rearing period (GROWTH PERIOD?? IS REARING PERIOD = GROWTH PERIOD???) is to prepare the birds for egg production.
This preparation is successful if at the end of this rearing period we have UNIFORM FLOCK – UNIFORMITY with CORRECT BODY WEIGHT AT MATURITY (ACCORDING TO AGE- 15,16,17 or 18 weeks).
ISA Brown is early maturity bird so attention is needed on the growth curve with GOAL OF OBTAINING 1600g at 5% of lay or as much as we can, closer to this technological (written in the guides) goal.

7. Understanding the Basics: Key Developmental Stages of a Brown Layer
90% Physical
maturity
Peak Egg
Production
Rapid increase
egg production
Sexual maturity
Rapid increase in
ovary development
and hormones
(blocked)
Begin develop.
(blocked)
of ovary
Skeletal 85%
General outline of development of birds over time. Compare weeks in breeders with years in humans.
Up to 3 weeks, start and immune system, very important
6-8 weeks, majority of skeletal frame. So small and big birds
until 12 weeks, change to alter frame size a little bit
at 12 weeks, start of puberty, sexual development
after 12 weeks, hormonal level controlled by restricting growth
making sure enough development for maturity, don’t stop them
between 20-24, birds ready, waiting for development of reproductive tract, if fed to much, birds will put that into meat
24 weeks, some birds in production, most still waiting, in rearing
30 weeks, all birds in production, change to fat growth.
System
Imm.
Skeletal 95% 7

8. What does the management guide says 1
UNIFORMITY – MOST IMPORTANT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE AVERAGE BODY WEIGHT ITSELF – EXAMPLE
FEW HUNDREDS OF SMALL BIRDS (OUT OF TEN OR MORE 000) LEFTED IN THE REARING HOUSE WHEN PULLETS MOVING TO THE LAYING HOUSE ARE VERY OFTEN SOLD TO SMALL PRODUCERS AND BECOME VERY GOOD LAYERS AND JUST A WEEK OR MORE LATE IN THEIR START OF PRODUCTION
WHY???
THEY were uniformly light (small body weight but in a range of + and – that shows excellent uniformity).
Then if they are properly managed in the period after housing in the laying house they will become a good uniform flock where all technological tools are working since they are simulating one bird – THAT IS THE GOAL
FLOCK = INDIVIDUAL BIRD

9. How to Manage a Good Uniformity and What it Means ?
-10%
+10%
Uniformity is the % of birds which have a bodyweight 10 % +/ - of the average bodyweight of the flock

10. What does the management guide says 1
BUT WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE GROWTH AND UNIFORMITY AFTER THE HOUSING IN THE LAYING HOUSE IF THE FLOCK OR THE BIRDS ARE UNPROPERLY MANAGED????

11. What does the management guide says 1
TRANSFERING OF THE BIRDS IN THE PRODUCTION/LAYER HOUSE
Transfering of the birds is usual at weeks of age, and most important is to be done before star of lay because it is recognized as very big stress for the birds. If the birds has to transported at long distances it is recommended that this transfer is realized at 15 weeks of age. It has to be realized fast to reduce the stress.
After housing :
First give water than feed;
Give 22 hours of light first day after transfer/arrival - WHAT ABOUT INTENSITY – TABLE BELOW 16 WEEKS????;
Check the drinking system - WHAT ABOUT FINDING THE DRINKERS – ESPECIALY IF CHANGING THE DRINKING SYSTEMS FROM xxxx TO NIPLE????;
Start feeding 2-3 hours after housing/arival.
Weight or more precisely water loss during the transport is % /hour, so the birds are loosing 5-12% during the transport!

12. What does the management guide says 1
LIGHTING
Lighting program adopted to our conditions is approximately the following:
Light stimulation has to be started after the birds have weight of 1300 g never before!
*After week 18 increase of duration of light is 30 min weekly until reaching 16 hours of light.
Age
Light Duration
(Light Intensity)
1-2 day
22 hours (20-40 lux)
6 недела
12 hours (5-10 lux)
3-4 day
20 hours (15-30 lux)
7 недела
11 hours (5-10 lux)
5-6 day
18 hours (15-30 lux)
8-15 week
10 hours (5-10 lux)
2 week
16 hours (10-20 lux)
16 week
11 hours (1) (15-30 lux)
3 week
15 hours (5-10 lux)
17 week
11.30 hours (15-30 lux)
4 week
14 hours (5-10 lux)
18 week
12 hours (15-30 lux)
5 week
13 hours (5-10 lux)

13. KEY QUESTION
WHY IS THIS PERIOD HOUSING TO 24 WEEKS (OVER 90%PRODUCTION) SO IMPORTANT???
REARING PERIOD
BUT FOR THIS PURPOSE FOCUS ON
THE END OF THE REARING PERIOD
(AFTER TRANSFER)
GROWTH
GROWTH RATE
RELATIVE GROWTH
CAPACITY TO GROW
CAPACITY TO EAT
CAPACITY TO GROW = CAPACITY TO EAT?

14. KEY QUESTION – PERIOD OF GROWTH
Week
Age in days
Feed per bird
Live weight (g.)
Weight gain
Daily( g.)
cumulative (kg.)
Min
Max
g. / % 1
0-7 11
0.1 65 68
0 / 0% 2
8-14 17
0.2
110
120
45 / 66% 3
15-21 25
0.4
195
210
85 / 71% 4
22-28 32
0.6
285
305
95 / 49% 5
29-35 37
0.9
380
400
95 / 33.3% 6
35-42 42
1.1
470
500
90 / 24% 7
43-49 46
1.5
560
590
90 / 19% 8
50-56 50
1.8
650
680
90 / 16% 9
57-63 54
2.2
740
775
90 / 13.8% 10
64-70 58
2.6
830
865
90 / 12%
71-77 61
3.0
920
960
90 / 10.8% 12
78-84 64
3.5
1010
1050
90 / 10.0% 13
85-91 67
3.9
1095
1140
85 / 8.4% 14
92-98 70
4.4
1180
1230
85 / 7.8% 15
99-105 73
4.9
1265
1320
85 / 7.2% 16 76
5.5
1350
1410
85 / 6.7% 80
6.0
1430
1505
80 / 6.0% 18 84
6.6
1500
1600
70 / 5.0%

15. CAPACITY TO PRODUCE = CAPACITY TO EAT?
KEY QUESTION
BUT THAN AT MATURITY
CAPACITY TO GROW
HAS TO BE SWITCHED
IN TO
CAPACITY TO PRODUCE??
THAN
CAPACITY TO PRODUCE = CAPACITY TO EAT?

16. KEY QUESTION REAL BIG CAPACITY TO EAT BUT THAN VERY CRUCIAL PERIOD
WEEK 18-24
CAPACITY TO GROW
CAPACITY TO EAT
CAPACITY TO GROW = CAPACITY TO EAT?
AND
CAPACITY TO PRODUCE = CAPACITY TO EAT?
CAPACITY TO GROWTH AND PRODUCE = CAPACITY TO EAT?
REAL BIG CAPACITY TO EAT

17. KEY QUESTION – PERIOD OF GROWTH AND PRODUCTION
Daily HD
Per hen Housed HH
Week
Production %
Egg weight
Daily egg output
(g)
Daily feed consump (g)
Feed conversion
Eggs (cum.)
Egg mass (cum.)
Feed (cum) kg.
Feed conver(cum)
Mortality (cum.) %
Live weight
(g.)
Weight Gain (g) / % 18
2.0
43.0
0.9 81
94.19
0.0
0.6
1500
70 / 5.0% 19
17.2
45.5
7.8 85
10.88 1
0.1
1.2
1580
80 / 5.3% 20
40.0
49.0
19.6 95
4.85 4
0.2
1.8
9.24
1640
60 / 3.8% 21
65.0
52.0
33.8
105
3.11 9
0.4
2.6
5.90
1705
65 / 3.9% 22
84.0
54.5
45.8
109
2.38 15
0.8
3.3
4.41
0.3
1755
55 / 3.2% 23
91.0
56.4
51.3
111
2.16
1.1
4.1
3.68
1790
35 / 2.0% 24
93.0
57.7
53.7
112
2.09 27
1.5
4.9
3.28
0.5
1805
15 / 0.8% 25
94.0
58.8
55.3
113
2.04 34
1.9
5.7
3.03
1818
13 / 0.7% 26
95.0
59.6
56.6
114
2.01 41
2.3
6.5
2.85
1830
12 / 0.6%
60.2
57.2
1.99 47
2.7
7.2
2.72
0.7
1840
10 / 0.5% 28
60.7
1.98 54
3.1
8.0
2.63
1850 29
94.7
61.1
57.9
1.97 60
3.5
8.8
2.55
1860 30
94.5
61.5
58.1
1.96 67
3.9
9.6
2.49
1.0
1870 31
94.3
61.9
58.4
1.94 73
4.3
10.4
2.44
1878
8 / 0.4% 32
94.1
62.2
58.5
1.93 80
4.7
11.2
2.39
1883
5 / 0.3%

18. KEY QUESTION - ANSWER
THAT IS THE REASON WHY THIS PERIOD FROM HOUSING TO 24 WEEKS (OVER 90% PRODUCTION) IS THE MOST CRITICAL PERIOD OF PULLETS / YOUNG LAYERS

19. Preparing Pullets for Success in the Production House
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???
Transition period from pullet to layer is most problematic:
Often characterized by insufficient feed and H2O intake
after transfer
Feeding times during rearing must be adapted to requirements during production
Train birds for target feeding schedule in lay
starting at 5 WOA
Apply “forward training” if differences in housing
system exist between rearing farm and production
farm
Relative increase in feed intake from rearing to production greatly varies with changes in housing systems

20. * Peak feed consumption
Effect of Housing System on Feed Intake Changes from Rearing into Production
TARGET :
Rearing: Production:
floor  cages  % *
cages  cages  %
floor  floor  %
<< Key is that feed intake increases sufficiently after transfer from
one housing system to another
<< If feed intake is too low after transfer and no management faults can be identified, feed density may have to be
increased at least temporarily
* Peak feed consumption
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???

21. Influence of Pullet Quality on Laying Performance
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???
Bodyweight at 5 weeks old
Bodyweight at 10 weeks old
Uniformity at 16 weeks old
Sexual maturity
% prod between
weeks
+++
0,63
0,59
weeks
0,82 ++
0,46
Egg number at 60 weeks old
0,83
0,30
0,54
Egg number at 72 weeks old
0,93
0,72
Liveability at 72 weeks old
0,71
0,40

22. FEEDING BEHAVIOUR DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???
Take advantage of natural behaviour of the bird :
Birds eat highest amount of feed before “lights off”
Hungry when “lights on” (digestive tract is empty)
Apply “empty feeder” technique during the middle of day from
4 to 5 WOA onwards
Feed presentation target: apply uniform grind size
Too many fine particles lead to low consumption
Too many large particles lead to selective eating
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???
Rapid & adapted feed intake during rearing period leads to increased feed consumption at transfer time and onset of lay

23. BW at Sexual Maturity and Relation to Avg. Egg Weight
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS??? 45
47,5 50
52,5 55
57,5 60
62,5 65
67,5
18-28 wks
28-40 wks
40-60 wks g g g
> 2000 g
Avg. Egg Weight (g)
BW at 1st egg influences egg weight for the rest of the laying period
Brown layer experiment

24. Major Cause for Early Mortality, Low Peak and Poor Laying Persistency
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???
A) Early mortality and low peak production
Late transfer to production house
Early sexual maturity
Broken follicles in abdomen leading to peritonitis
Too low a BW early in rearing
B) Poor laying persistency
Late housing and early sexual maturity
Too many problems and manipulations (i.e. vaccinations) at the onset of lay and up to peak production

25. Dietary Recommendations for Rearing of Commercial Layers
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS???

26. What does the management guide says 2
HOW TO CONTROL IT or HOW TO BALANCE AND SMOOTLY SWITCH FROM GROWTH TO PRODUCTION????
THROUGH MANAGING THE STRESS AND ACOMODATION AFTER TRANSFER/HOUSING IN THE LAYING HOUSE
THROUGH MANAGING THE FEED INTAKE AND FEED INTAKE CAPACITY
YOU HAVE YOUR COMMERCIAL GUIDES (TECHNICAL MANUALS FOR MANAGEMENT AT DIFFERENT STAGES REARING AND LAYING)
WHAT DO THE MANUALS SAY?

27. What does the management guide says 2
MANAGING THE STRESS AND ACOMODATION AFTER TRANSFER/HOUSING IN THE LAYING HOUSE
DO YOU REMEMBER THIS
After housing :
- First give water than feed;
- Give 22 hours of light first day after transfer/arrival - WHAT ABOUT INTENSITY – TABLE BELOW 16 WEEKS????;
- Check the drinking system - WHAT ABOUT FINDING THE DRINKERS – ESPECIALY IF CHANGING THE DRINKING SYSTEMS FROM xxxx TO NIPLE????;
- Start feeding 2-3 hours after housing/arival.
Vitamins (B)

28. What does the management guide says 2
MANAGING THE FEED INTAKE AND FEED INTAKE CAPACITY
Energy Level
During the first few weeks of life, meat type chickens just like young pullets are incapable of regulating their energy intake according to the energy concentration of the diet.
It takes weeks to develop the digestive tract. During the first 8-10 weeks, any increase in the energy level is accompanied by an increase in growth. When given the feed in a crumb form, young pullets are able to increase their feed intake.
The table below shows the influence of energy level and presentation method on the bodyweight of
pullets at 5 weeks of age.
3100 kcal g g
2790 kcal g g
Newcombe (1985)
After 10 weeks of age, pullets correctly regulate their energy intake according to the energy level of the diet in both hot and temperate climates. Under consumption during that period is often the result of a poor grit size.

29. What does the management guide says 2
MANAGING THE FEED INTAKE AND FEED INTAKE CAPACITY
Protein Requirements
The amino acid requirements are to a large extent dependent on the feed conversion ratio and,
therefore on age; that is why, when young the requirements expressed in mg of amino-acids per g of growth are the same as a broiler.
Any delay in growth during the first few weeks will be reflected in a reduced bodyweight at 17 weeks and in later performance. It is, therefore, extremely important to use a starter diet for the first 4 or 5 weeks, which has an amino acid/protein ratio similar to that of the broiler.

30. What does the management guide says 2
MANAGING THE FEED INTAKE AND FEED INTAKE CAPACITY
Development of the digestive system
The achievement of good growth and a rapid increase in feed consumption at start of lay depends on the chicken having a well-developed digestive system, especially a good strong gizzard.
Using feed of good particle size, giving grit during rearing and/or using limestone granules from 10 weeks will all contribute towards good gizzard development.

31. What does the management guide says 2
MANAGING THE FEED INTAKE AND FEED INTAKE CAPACITY
The objective is to develop the pullet's ability to eat feed, so that it can increase its consumption by approximately 40% in the first few weeks of lay.
During the period weeks, it is important to develop the digestive system by using diets with an energy concentration less than or equal to that of the layer's diet.

32. How to do it practicaly???
We manage the flock properly at rearing following the recommendation
Results:
Good (equal or above technology) live weight at week 13
- Good uniformity

33. How to do it practicaly???
1. We offered the birds at the end of rearing period before transfer (week 14 and 15) low density developer diet Kcal ME/kg feed .
A lot of fiber in it.
So called light feed
lower specific weight of the feed ???
Ton of such feed has more volume than the regular one
2. We offered high energy density prelay feed to the pullets after transfer at week 16

34. How to do it practicaly??? Results
1. We lost some weight gain in week 14 and 15
Instead of having weight gain of 85g/week we had 45-55g/week.
But the birds eat more feed
2. After transfer and feeding with prelay feed we had:
- Improved feed consumption (increased)
- Improved weight gain (increased)
- Improved live weight
- Better start of lay
- Better egg size
- Better peak of production

35. Summary and Conclusions
Growing period ends not before WOA (mature BW)
USE ALL MENTIONED RECOMMENDATION TO
STIMULATE EATING BEHAVIOR
after transfer to laying house

36. FROM HOUSING TO 24 WEEKS (OVER 90% PRODUCTION) – THE MOST CRITICAL PERIOD OF PULLETS / YOUNG LAYERS
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