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SYNTHETIC TRAINING ON

POULTRY FARMING MANUAL TRAINING

Step By Step Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About The Tutor.......................................................................................... 1

Description ................................................................................................... 2

SECTION 1: Poultry Housing, Location, Direction And Dimension. 4

SECTION 2: Brooding Techniques and Management of Day-Old

Chicks.......................................................................................................... 11

SECTION 3: Strict Bio-Security And Its Principles ............................ 20

SECTION 4: Administration Of Drugs And Vaccines To Birds ........ 42

DESCRIPTION

his course is about running a chicken production enterprise efficiently with low costs, low mortality, quicker turnover, and consequently higher profits. Understand standard terms used in chicken production.

The course will concentrate on chicken welfare which involves, proper housing, spacing, feeding, feed mixing/formulation, heating, lighting, hygiene practices, vaccination, and symptoms of sick chickens. There will be an extra section on the use of herbs to prevent and treat some of the diseases. You will understand notable diseases, namely bird flu, new castle, coryza, IBD, mycoplasma, ascites and colibacilloses.

The course also dwells on planning, implementing, running, and evaluating a chicken production enterprise.

Compile a comprehensive business plan with (budgets, cashflows, housing plans, equipment, and procedures). The business plan can be used for own planning or to apply for funding.

Who this course is for:

• Aspiring and existing chicken farmers in the backyard or at a farm.
• Those who want to take chicken farming as a hobby or income- generating project.

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• Technical advisors to poultry farmers
• Those in agriculture specializing in animal or livestock production
• To train poultrymen at a broiler chicken farm

Before making a poultry housing system, one should keep the following things in mind:

1. The house should protect birds from adverse climatic conditions.
2. It should have easy and economical operations.
3. It should have an effective disease control measure.
4. It should give room for proper supervision.

Before selecting a location for a poultry housing system, the following factors should be considered:

• Your poultry house should not be near a residential and industrial area to avoid eventual eviction, especially in the middle of your business.
• It should have proper access with road facilities.
• It should have the basic amenities like electricity, water, feed, and access roads for chicks' transportation.
• The location should be wherever you can find farm labourers at relatively cheaper wages.

• It should be located in an elevated area and devoid of water- logging characteristics.
• It should have proper ventilation and should be in an open area.

Before making layout preparation, you should consider the following:

1. The layout should not allow visitors or outsiders vehicles near the birds.
2. The sheds/pens should be ideally located that the fresh air first passes through the brooder pen, followed by the grower and layer pen. This will prevent the spread of diseases from layer houses to brooder houses.
3. There should be a minimum distance of 50-100feet between chick and grower pen, and the distance between grower and layer pen should be 100 feet at minimum.
4. The egg storeroom, office, and feed storeroom should be located near the entrance to overcome people's movement around the poultry pens.
5. The disposal pit and sick room should be constructed only at the extreme of the site.

For poultry housing, another essential factor to consider is the poultry housing system and fencing options. The poultry housing system determines around a 40% success rate and profitability of your poultry farming business. A good poultry housing system is vital for the success of your poultry farming.

The following poultry housing system is generally and commonly used in poultry farming:

i. Extensive Housing System: Free Range ii. Semi-Intensive Housing System: Standard semi intensive unit and open run

Battery Cage System-: As for the battery cage housing system, metal cages are made inside a building to house the birds. The cages are generally split into different compartments to keep small groups of birds. The cages also contain feeders and drinkers, as well as laying nests.

Birds dropping fall on the floor, and it is cleaned manually or mechanically with the aid of a scraper. This method is considered the most effective for commercial layer farming, but the major downside of this method is that it is more expensive to construct and maintain compared to other types of poultry housing systems. An intensive housing system is the best housing system and should be duly considered if you plan to run a poultry farm for commercial purposes and intend to get the best out of business in terms of high birds' productivity and efficiency. Please note all three-housing system has their advantages and disadvantages. You will have to consider according to your requirements and capital.

Nevertheless, whichever decision you have chosen:

• It's imperative to make available a good housing system in poultry to protect your investment against adverse weather conditions.
• Protect birds against diseases.
• Should help to keep birds of the same age groups for proper handling and effective management.
• An excellent measure to protect birds from thieves/predators.
• Proper housing to enhance maximum productivity in the poultry business.
• Good housing to increase the efficiency of feeding and feed utilization.
• It also facilitates easy management and care.

Section 2

BROODING TECHNIQUES AND

MANAGEMENT OF DAY-OLD CHICKS

Pen preparation before chick's arrival

rooding simply means adequate care of chicks from Day old to 2-3weeks (depending on weather conditions). This is when the chicks are so tender/fragile. Therefore, they need adequate care and attention. We must note that any mistake done during brooding, especially in layer chicks, would affect egg production almost throughout its lifetime; hence, preparing the pen before the chicks' arrival is essential.

Preparing the brooding house before chicks' arrival

• Clean, wash, and disinfect the brooder house.
• Repair any broken, damaged floors, roofs, light facilities, and windows.

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• Spread wood shavings around the brooder house floor to ensure warmth and good beddings for the chicks.
• Ensure there is a reliable heat source. (Not cut and join, please)
• Get chicks' feed stocked before arrival
• Wash, disinfect, clean, and dry feeders and drinkers.
• Keep handy all necessary medications for the chicks. Example: anti- stress and organic medications to avoid running helter-skelter upon chicks' arrival
• Adequate netting of windows and roof to keep away flies, mosquitoes, reptiles, and rodents is paramount.
• The temperature range of a brooder house should be between 32- degrees Celsius before the chicks arrive. (I will tell you how to know when the temperature is okay in the next topic, brooding techniques).
• Long distance transportation from Hatchery to brooding house is not always advisable, it can lead to dehydration, over-stress to the chicks and, of course, mortality. However, if they must undergo a long- distance journey, have your multivitamins calcium (MVC) handy to ease stress.
• Place feet dip with disinfectant at the entrance of brooder house to enhance proper sanitation and/or get designated slippers and cloth for a particular pen.
• Clear bushes around the pen and eliminate all breeding holes before cats, snakes and raccoons pay you an august visit
• Do not give feed immediately; offer water first.
• Ensure that wood shavings are properly treated from insects and harmful bacteria organisms. Do not use sawdust, please, as this most times causes respiratory diseases.
• Do not throw the chicks into the pen immediately; count to know your stock

• Check to ensure equipment is working correctly and is adjusted to the correct height (automatic drinkers)
• Remove all old feed from bins, hopper sand troughs
  • Disinfect and allow to dry before the new feed is delivered
  • Place rodenticide where chicks will not consume it
  • Never allow wet litter in your pen. It is a severe pathogenic agent of bacterial and secondary infections.
• I will repeat it, do not use sawdust rather, use wood shavings and avoid every form of dust from feed, smoke from lantern or generator.
• The room should be well insulated but not airtight to allow for light ventilation, the room should be well heated as cold can cause CRD.
• Maintain monitoring & evaluation worksheet– This will help to compare one lot to the next and help identify areas that need improvement.
• Have a well-defined/regular feeding pattern– This will ensure the animals are not 'stressed' and weight progress is even.
• Ensure the brooder/poultry house is well lit during the Day and night. This encourages the chicks to keep feeding and hence attain the required weight on time.
• It should be smaller but enough to accommodate the required number of chicks. Note that the bigger the brooding house, the more heat will be required, so the need for a chick guard or surround. Because the chicks cannot regulate their body temperature at that age, you need to provide an alternative source of heat for them (hence the need for charcoal pot, electric bulb, automatic heater etc.)
• After 14-21 days, the chicks can regulate their body temperature, so constant heating of the house at that time should be reduced and done only on rainy days.
  • Stop heating the house after 28days, the chicks should at this time be moved to the grow-out pen.

• Observe your chicks regularly to checkmate wrong/right temperature (this is your business) since you may not have the resources to get a thermometer. If they are too cold, they huddle near the heat source or closer to themselves; if they are too hot, they will spread away from the heat source to the wall. If the temperature is okay, they will be scattered around. You will see them playing, eating, and even dancing.

Signs for overheating: Panting and drowsiness, drinking a lot of water and going closer to the wall.

Signs for chilling: Huddling and loud chumming.

Essential Equipment You Need for Brooding

• Feeding troughs: There are several options, choose the best for you.
• Drinkers: Either plastic or metallic drinkers. Plastics are easy to clean and can last long
• Enough lightning during the night. You may prefer having electric power available.
• A brooder for the day-old chicks. A brooder can be within the main poultry house by carving out a place for the chicks and removing the guards as the chicks attain 2weeks.
  • A charcoal pot or heat-generating electric bulbs within the brooder to maintain enough heat within the brooder during the night or cold daytimes.

Summarily:

• Make available feeders and drinkers,
• Source of heat,
• Starter chick mash feeds and medications.
• Assess Your Chicks After 24Hours!!!

Immediately after the chicks are introduced to feed for the first time (remember, you give water first with MVC), they are hungry, which

Basic Equipment for Your Farm

Equipment, as you already know, are tools you need for the smooth running of your farm. You need to have these essential tools handy for you to get things done easily and timely. The equipment I will be listing includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Feeders and drinkers, we have so many of them go for the one you can afford
2. Water supply/Borehole
3. Beak Trimmer
4. Nestboxes
5. Weighing balance (you're expected to weigh your birds weekly and feed intake daily)
6. Perches/Roost (for layers)
7. Sprinkler
8. Thermometer (for commercial farms)
9. Crates
10. Brooms