Janssen
Admin
Many poultry farmers are on the verge of giving up on their farming projects. Most of the time they are making similar and easily avoided mistakes.
- Allow for good air circulation in laying house. I have been to farms with poor ventilation you might think it's a prison cell. How do you expect your birds to breathe? All the ammonia, carbon dioxide and dust will accumulate there and this is disastrous for your birds. Respiratory problems will always lurk in the poultry house.
- A hybrid layer needs on average 130 gm-140gms of feed per day. Some farmers underfeed their bird and expect to get good production. It can never happen. Overfeeding your birds is also a no-no!
- Distribute in food troughs and water drinkers evenly (1 drinker for 50 birds. Likewise for trough feeders)
- Provide layer's mash at around 20 weeks when you get 10-20% egg production and introduce it gradually to avoid stressing the birds.
- Laying nests must be kept in dark places and eggs collected at least twice a day. Failure to collect eggs on time will lead to broodiness and potentially egg eating.
- Allow a nest with 4 hens each. Don't let your birds lay on the floor as this leads to dirty eggs.
- Provide soft clean litter. Wood shavings, sand, and rice husks are most suitable.
- Store eggs with the small end down to allow them to 'breathe'.
- Clean dirty eggs with steel wool/coarse leaves (never wash them). Don't touch eggs with dirty hands as this leads to contamination through the pours.
- Culling when egg production drops below 40% is recommended. This is around 72 to 80 weeks.
- Don’t overcrowd your brooders. A spacing of at least 4 meters diameter for 500 birds is most suitable.
- Feed must be of good quality. Consider testing your feeds in a laboratory to ensure quality.
- Give clean water twice per day in the morning and evening. Birds drink twice as much as they eat.
- Wash your feeders and drinkers twice per day with a low-cost quality disinfectant.
- Don’t mix young and older birds. Younger birds have lower immunity than older ones and diseases may spread quickly. Another thing is that older birds often fight the younger ones.
- A clean poultry house is of utmost importance. If you live in a clean house why subject your birds to dirty environment?
- Dispose of dead birds quickly and isolate sick ones. Never consume sick birds!
- Provide disinfectant at the entrance to the house
- Antibiotics should never be used to replace good management and should be used on prescription by a veterinarian.
- Keep records which should include:
- Number of eggs produced
- Amount of food eaten
- Health interventions e.g. treatment
- Deaths
- Sales and purchases.
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