1. Brooder

Brooding: is the caring of the chicks from day old till 88 days of age. It is done in order to prevent chick mortality and achieve maximum growth by providing warmth to the chicks.

Natural Brooding: Under normal condition, the mother hen provides the chicks with the warmth of the body and looks after the feeding too.

Artificial Brooding: Under artificial brooding, a temperature controlled artificial brooder is used in place of mother hen.

Construction and management

• It highly recommended to be round in shape.

• A brooder can be within the main poultry house, as soon as they turn two weeks (broilers) or six weeks (layers) you can take them off the brooder.

• if it not round, it must be constructed in a way that it has wider angles at the corners.

• Sharp corners during the clustering or the stampeding of chicks.

• Place the source of heat at the centre, infra-red light bulb.

• Place baby drinkers and feeders inside brooder.

• Use the cartons as bedding not wood shaving or sawdust .

• Source of heat must always be at the centre of the brooder, and hanging.

• Drinkers and feeders must be placed in separate position inside the brooder , in opposite direction.

• Sawdust is not recommended for bedding, as the chicks will mistaken it for feed.

• Temperature is very important in broiler poultry farming. You should check the temperature of the broiler chicken house 48 hours before bringing the chick to the farm.

• Drop the curtains to prevent your chicks form heat stress.

Heart effect to the chicks

• The behaviour or the response of the chicks to the heat will tell you whether the heart you are providing is it less or sufficient or excessive.

• Less heat: chicks are clustered below the source of heat.

• Excessive heat: chicks are scattered far away from the source of heat.

• Enough heat: chicks are evenly distributed across the brooder.

Lighting effect to the chicks

• Use dull lighting (not too bright), and keep the brooder lit at night.

• The lighting that is too bright will create shadows which result other chicks to perk each other.

• The lighting that is too low will force chicks to move in one position/place which will cause other chicks to suffocate .

Wind effect to the chicks

• Too much wind coming inside the brooder will cause chicks to move in one side , as you know it not good for chicks to be concentrated in one position, no matter how good your source of heat and lighting but the wind will force chicks to move in one position.

• Another reason why we need pvc curtains inside the house where we’ve built the brooder in.

• Wind is another contributing factor of stress.

Hygiene

• Two weeks prior to chick arrival, the brooder, drinkers, feeders, litter, and other materials for brooding should be cleaned and disinfected.

2. Poultry Housing

Construction

• The house must be facing North to South to allow natural shade during the day, this orientation minimise the amount of sunlight entering the house directly.

• It must be constructed in a rectangular shape, the smaller sides must be located on the North and South side, while the longer side must be on the East and West side.

• All walls should be built to a certain height and remaining space all the way to the top has to be open-sided to allow natural ventilation.

• Avoid building a square house, it has to be a rectangle in shape.

• The lower part of the wall should be constructed with solid material and the upper part it has to be enclosed with a material that will allow ventilation to happen.

• This wall can be made from stones, iron sheet, timber, silver boards or bricks, while the upper part of the wall a chicken wire mesh highly recommended.

• The height size ratio of the upper part opening to the lower solid enclosed space should be not less than 2 times the size of lower enclosed part. For example if the lower solid wall is 1 meter heigh, then the upper opened mesh part has to be 2 meter or more.

• Concrete floor are the best finishing as they are easier to clean and disinfect.

• The bedding material should be 10 centimetres (cm) thick, for birds that has past brooding days wood shaving instead of sawdust is highly recommended.

• Ensure the bedding is always dry to avoid multiplication of disease.

• Use thermometer to check the temperature within.

• There should be a foot bath at the entrance of the house, for those entering the house to disinfect their foot wear when entering the house.

• It should be constructed in an isolated area to minimise the risk of contamination.

• The roof extension over the wall (overlapping) must be 50 centimetres (cm).

• If you have garden or fruit trees make sure your house is plus 5 metres (m) away from them, to prevent rodents coming inside the house.

• The feed should be separated from the house to avoid the risk of attracting rodents.

• The house should be fenced to exclude stray animals and visitors.

• The door should always be locked.

• If you wish to keep flocks of different ages, then each flocks must be housed in it own house and the housing should be 5 to 10 metres apart. Dividing the house in partitions for the sake of keeping different flocks this will increase the risk of contamination especially when you disinfecting one part of the partition or even there’s a disease outbreak from one flock.

Curtains

The house should have curtains to cover the opened upper part for couple of reasons.

• The normal curtains is known to be opened side ways but these ones must be constructed to open up and down in a vertical direction.

• To prevent the rain to come inside the house which may result in causing wetness in the bedding that will lead to diseases

• To regulate the heat inside the house most especially the brooding phase as well as during cold season you may be required not open them half way or 3 quarter way down to retain the heat within the structure.

• To prevent too much dry wind blowing inside the house.

Ventilation

is the circulation of fresh air inside the house coming from one side, exiting through the opposite end of the house. The ventilation serves a certain function:

• Removing excess heat and moisture.

• Proving oxygen while removing harmful gases or odour..

• reducing dust while improving the clean air quality.

BioSecurity

is the management of practise designed to prevent entry of disease into the farm and limit spread, the infectious disease are introduce to the farms though:

• Bringing new birds from the other farm.

• Visitors, suppliers, vets, farmers clothing, shoes and vehicles.

• Poor disposal of dead birds’ carcasses, feathers and litter.

• Contaminated drinking water provided to the birds.

• Contaminated water source, it either on the water tank or water pipes.

• Rodents and wild birds.

• Rats move from farm to farm and the feeds is what they looking for, as well as cats moving house to house.

• Egg transmission, by setting contaminated eggs with clean eggs in one hatchery, diseases that are from parent stock.

• Contaminated feeders and drinkers equipment.

• Keeping pets on a commercial farm.

For affective biosecurity plan a few things needs to be taken to consideration:

Isolation

this is done through confining the birds in a controlled environment and keeping all other animals out, this is achieved through:

• Construction of fences, putting a gate to control traffic in and out of the farm.

• Practice all-in-all-out poultry management

• Never keep birds of different age groups in one house, that is high risky.

• If you have to introduce a new bird or birds into the farm, make sure that there’s an isolation unit as far as possible from the resident birds.

• The new bird should be isolated for 2-4 weeks, during this period the birds will be observed for any signs of diseases and treated if any is seen, and should be vaccinated before introducing them to the nearer to the flocks at the farm.

• Clear surroundings of bushes and shrubs as these provide hiding areas for rodents, mosquitoes and wild animals.

• In case of disease outbreak, Sick birds should be isolated and dead birds removed burnt or buried.

Human Traffic Controls

Humans are the biggest threats to spread of disease, they transfer disease through their clothing, shoes, hands, equipment and vehicle. Every farmer should control the number of people that come into the farm

Sanitation

The poultry house should be kept clean at all times to avoid the spread of diseases. And birds litter should be kept dry at all times, here are some of the things you should do when enter the house:

• Everyone should wash their hands with a disinfectant

• Wear protective clothing, especially the ones that covers the feet, the boots before they enter the poultry house.

• There should be a foot-bath at the entrance of every poultry house, that all visitors should dip their foot before they enter the house.

3. Commercial Layer Farming

Systems of Housing.

• Cage system.

• Deep litter system: Covering of floor with litter materials like saw-dust, rice-husk, chopped wheat straw (Depending upon the availability).

• Free-Range.

Management of chicks in the brooder (0-8 weeks)

• Before the chicks arrive on the farm, brooder should be pre heated, when the chicks arrive on the brooder they should find it warm.

• When chicks arrive at your house give them stress pack.

• Provide continuous light during brooding period.

• When the day old chick arrive on the farm, they must have a green marked on their head, which is a sign of vaccination.

• Everyday you take out overnight water and clean feeders and drinkers and refill them again.

• Never leave the chicks without water, chicks can lose 98% of their body fat (or) 50% of body protein and still survive, but a 10% loss in body water will result in serious physiological illness and a 20% loss will result in death.

• Rain water or bore hole water is recommendable.

• Do not over fill the feeders.

• Make sure the feeders are empty for maximum 1 hour!

• At least once a weak feeders may be cleaned to remove cake, dust in the feeder.

• Daily inspect the condition of birds for any abnormalities

• Height of the feeder should be adjusted to the convenience of the chicks.

• Brooding should be started at 35 Degrees Celsius temperature and be reduced by 2 Degrees Celsius every week until 25 Degrees Celsius is attained.

• Height of the feeder should be adjusted to the convenience of the chicks.

Brooding Temperature, Patterns of chick distribution under electric brooder-

Management of Growers (9-20 weeks)

• Birds should be transferred to grower house at 9 weeks of age.

• Drinker and feeders should be adjusted as per the need of the birds.

• Grower mash should be fed to the birds.

• Keep provision for cross ventilation, and the temperature should be drop.

• Vaccinate birds as per schedule.

• Check feed intake and body weight at regular interval.

• Provide light 12 hours a day.

Management of Layers (21-72 weeks)

• Ventilation in the layer house should be adequate without drafts.

• Feed layer mash to the birds.

• Provide laying nest to the birds, use clean bedding material in the laying nest

• Replace nesting material at regular intervals Eggs should be collected 3-4 times a day in deep litter system of housing.

• Remove dead birds promptly and dispose them properly.

• Light should start from 12 hours a day & increased by 15-30 minutes every week until 16 hours of light is reached.

4. Eggs characteristics

Size

• The type of breed you keep has a major influence on the size of an egg.

• The food intake also play a major role in the size, nut be very carefully not to over feed them , but later we’ll discuss the danger of over feeding.

• An average egg size you should concern yourself about is the large size.

Yolk

• The colour of a yolk is what will tell you if your chickens are getting healthy feeds.

• Form pale yellowish to strong yellow.

• The stronger the colour the healthier an egg.

• The present of blood and meat spots in your eggs is an indication that your birds are old and approaching menopause.

Shell

• The strength of an egg shell rely on the nutrition of the feed.

5. Commercial Broiler Farming

• check the layers 0- 8 weeks guide , but for broilers it going to be 0-2 weeks.

• Deep litter system: Covering of floor with litter materials like saw-dust, rice-husk, chopped wheat straw (Depending upon the availability).

• When the day old chick arrive on the farm, they must have a green marked on their head, which is a sign of vaccination.

• Give them starter feed for first 14 days (2 weeks)

• Give them them vaccination (check vaccination plan)

• Give them grower feeder from day 15 till day 30(2 weeks)

• from week 5 onwards you give them the finisher feeder.

• At 6^th week you’re expected to make your first sale.

Broiler vaccination Plan

the place where yo buy feed from , ask them for vaccination plan.

• Day 1 : already vaccinated from hatchery , give them stress-pack

• Day 7 : Lasota vaccine /(7 days vaccine)

• Day 14 : Gumboro vaccine /(14 days vaccine)

• Day 21 : Newcastle vaccine

• Day 28 : Gumboro vaccine

6. Poultry Health and disease management

Characteristics of Healthy birds

• Continuously Eat and drink

• Bright eyes and comb

• Soft compact droppings Breathe quietly

• Bright eyes and comb

• Walk, run, stand and scratch

Characteristics of Unhealthy birds

• Eat and drink less

• Lay less or stop laying eggs

• Wet droppings with blood or worms, diarrhea

• Cough, sneeze and breathe noisily.

• Lay less or stop laying eggs

• Sit or lie down most of the time

7. Types of diseases

Newcastle Disease

• No treatment and control is by vaccination of all birds from two weeks of age.

• heavy breathing, greenish droppings, and sometimes bloody diarrhea.

• Loss of appetite

Avian Influenza (AI)

• No treatment. Best prevention is strict hygiene and slaughter of sick birds.

• AI can presently NOT be prevented through vaccination of birds.

• Burn of all birds in the flock and disinfect all chicken houses a disease outbreak.

• Transmission through contaminated feed and drinking water from ponds.

• Virus can infect human being. Do not eat infected birds.

• Notify a veterinarian, if you suspect an AI outbreak.

Fowl pox

• A viral disease, a trouble disease in hot areas( spread by mosquitoes & lesions of affected birds) esp. dry seasons .

• Signs-loss of appetite & scale eruptions on combs, wattles face and around the eye.

• No treatment. Vaccine is available and highly effective.

Fowl Typhoid

• Symptoms are loss of appetite, severe greenish diarrhea and sudden death.

• Infection from hen to egg. Bird to bird and mechanical via humans, rodents and insects, feed and drinking water.

• No treatment & prevention/control is by Vaccination.

Coccidiosis (internal parasites)

• Signs loss of appetite ,bloody droppings , droop.

• Treatment anticoccidiastat- antibiotics in feed or water.

• Prevented by regular and thorough cleaning of troughs and poultry houses between batches.

• Overcrowding aids spread.

• Damp litter conducive to coccidia multiplication.

Gumboro (Infectious Bursal Disease, IBD)

• Viral disease

• Only seen in chicks younger than 6 weeks .

• Not common in small-scale village based systems.

• Common symptom: Diarrhoea.

• No treatment. Control by Vaccination

Infectious coryza

• Runny nose

• swellings under the eyes

• drop in egg production.

• Treatment by adding antibiotics in drinking water.

Chronic respiratory disease (Mycoplasmosis)

• Runny or blocked nose

• Swollen face

• Drop in egg production

• Rare deaths.

• Treatment by adding antibiotics in drinking water.

Roundworms and tapeworms (Internal parasites)

• Poor health 

• Weight loss 

• Drop in egg production 

• Bloody diarrhoea

• Treatment is by anthelmintics in the drinking water once or twice a year.

External Parasites

• Attacks all ages any time, but occurs more frequently in humid chicken houses with bad hygiene.

• Signs- Adult birds are clearly disturbed and spend a lot of time pecking and polishing feathers. weight loss and possibly loss of feathers.

• Spray or dust with pesticides, ashes and oil. Ashes and sulphur powder may be used where the hens do dust bathing.

• Nests may be protected by putting a few tobacco leaves mixed with ashes in the nests.

Nutritional diseases

• Bone deformation and feather loss.

• The birds walk with difficulty; they limp. Legs are deformed.

• Some deficiencies may cause feather loss

• Treatment, if detected in time: Supplementary vitamins and calcium, fresh grass and cow dung.

• Control- Allow birds to access normal vegetation

8. Vaccination

• Poultry should be vaccinated when they are young and before they have began to lay and most importantly NEVER VACCINATE SICK BIRDS.

• Avoid mixing vaccines with drinking water or feed, as it is difficult to give the correct dose.

• Giving the right dose is essential for the vaccine to work properly- consult a veterinarian for further advice before carrying out a vaccination.

• All vaccines should be stored in a refrigerator and away from direct sunlight before use.

• Vaccines should be transported in a cool box

• Equipments used for vaccination should be disinfected in boiling water

• DO NOT USE CHEMICALS to disinfect vaccination equipment

• Instruction on vaccine dilutions should be followed as per accompanying

General precautions: vaccination with live vaccines

• It is best to vaccinate birds during the cool hours of the day, either in the morning or evening.

• Vaccines should be used within 60 minutes after dilution.

• Consult a veterinarian when in doubt before vaccination

Vaccination tools

• Vaccines

• Distilled water

• Sterile needles and syringes

• Cool box

• Clean apron and gumboots