Ekiti State University

Entrepreneurship
Practical Manual

Poultry and Fisheries

TABLE OF CONTENT

TITLE PAGE

Title page i

Table of content ii

List of tables iv

CHAPTER ONE 1

Introduction……………….. 1

Poultry farming…………… 1

Importance of Poultry…….. 1

Types of poultry birds…….. 2

CHAPTER TWO 2

System of rearing………….. 2

Extensive system of housing birds 2

Advantages of extensive/free range system 2

Disadvantages of Extensive/free range system 3

Semi-intensive system……… 3

Advantages of semi-intensive system 3

Intensive system…………….. 3

Deep liter system……………. 3

Advantages of the deep litter system 4

Disadvantages of the deep litter system 4

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The cage system (Battery Cage System) 4

Advantages of the Cage System 5

Disadvantages of the Cage System 5

CHAPTER THREE 5

Poultry management under intensive system of rearing 5

Chick management…………….. 5

Brooding……………………….. 5

Brooding method………………. 6

Natural brooding……………….. 6

Artificial Brooding……………... 6

Preparation for the arrival of chicks 7

Handling of Chicks on Arrival 8

Factors affecting performance of chicks 8

Grower stage…………………...... 9

Finish stage………………………. 9

Daily activities or routine which enhance fowl productive 9

Weekly activities or Routine which leads to fowl productive 10

Occasional activities or Routine which affect fowl productive 10

Feeds and Feeding Management in Broiler Chickens Production 11

CHAPTER FOUR 13

Vaccination and medication……… 13

iii
CHAPTER FIVE

Turkey…………………………….. 14

Management practices in Turkey production 15

CHAPTER SIX 15

Poultry records……………………. 15

Advantages of keeping Records…... 16

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION 17

iv
LIST OF TABLES
TITLE PAGE
Table 1: Feed Guide for Broiler and Cockerel 11
Table 2: Broiler Requirements……. 12
Table 3: Layers Feed Requirement… 12
Table 4: Recommended Vaccination programme for Pullets/Cockerels 13
Table 5: Recommended vaccination programme for broilers 14
Table 6: Feed requirement for turkey 15
Table 7: Sample records keeping for layers, broilers and cockerels 16

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vi
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Animal husbandry is one of the two prominent branches of agriculture, it involves the rearing of
animals either for meat production, egg production, forest reserves (tourism), or provision of raw
materials for both Agricultural and non-agricultural industries, such as skin, hair, feathers, horn,
hooves, dungs and droppings etc. thin practices included but not limited to fish farming, Goat,
Sheep and Cattle rearing, Swine (Pig farming), Poultry farming etc.
Poultry farming
This is the form of animal husbandry which raises feathered animals (domesticated bird) such as
Chicken, ducks, turkeys, geese etc. to produce meat or eggs either in subsistence or commercial
form. In other words, Poultry is a collective term which refers to a group of domesticated birds
reared or hunted for a useful purpose.
Chickens are the most abundant and commonly raised poultry. Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) recommended that 35g out of the required minimum of 65-72g of reference
protein should be obtained from animal products. However, the average animal protein intake
per capita per day in Nigeria and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa fluctuate between 7.6
and 13.26g and this is widely acknowledged to be inadequate. Poultry, because of its enormous
potentials, can be explored to bridge the animal protein shortage gap.
The two main branches of poultry farming is egg and meat production, others include production
of chicks, production of points-of-lay pullets. Egg and poultry meat are produced primarily for
food while in addition, eggs are used in various industries of confectionery, cosmetics and
vaccines. The feathers are used as ornamentals and in making Pillows.
Importance of Poultry
1) Poultry provides cheap and good quality meat.
2) Poultry utilize high quality feed to produce meat and eggs in a highly efficient way and at
a faster rate compared to cattle, sheep and goat.
3) Poultry production requires relatively small area of land compared to other livestock.
Also among all livestock, poultry contribute least of the green-house gases that have been
blamed for aggravating global warming and causing climate change.
4) Poultry manure is rich in soil essential nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium,
Calcium, Sulphur and so on) that aid crop production. It is used to improve soil structure;

1
 increase the level of organic matter in the soil and increase the soil water holding
capacity.
5) Through poultry production, jobs are created along the value chain. Jobs are created for
attendants, marketers, processors, feed millers, poultry equipment manufacturers, feed
ingredients marketers, transporters and a host of others.
Types of poultry birds
The various domesticated birds reared in poultry includes; turkey, duck, geese, pheasant, quail,
guinea fowl, pigeons and chickens, etc., but during this course, we shall limit our self to two
which are chicken and turkey.

CHAPTER TWO

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SYSTEM OF REARING
A system is an order and planned way of doing things which could be intensive, semi-intensive
or extensive system.

Extensive system of housing birds

This system is also refers to as free range. Free-range poultry farming allows chickens to roam
freely during the day, although they are usually confined in shed at night to protect them from
predators or kept indoors, if the weather is particularly bad. One characteristic of this system is
the constant movements of birds to new grazing areas for food and away from pathogens that
increases due to larger accumulation of their droppings.
The hens make their own nest in the bushes where they lay their eggs. The eggs that are not
stolen or broken hatched into chicks. Birds reared under this system are able to supplement their
diets with some grasses and insects which may be picked up from the soil.

Advantages of extensive/free range system

i. Saving of feed
ii. No labour requirement for management.
iii. Bone development relatively better.
iv. Equipment is hardly used.
v. It is less expensive
vi. Birds gets benefit of enough sunlight.

Disadvantages of Extensive/free range system

i. Easy disease outbreak
ii. More space required
iii. Scientific management practices cannot be followed because there is no control over the
birds.

Semi-intensive system.

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This system is a combination of the extensive and intensive system. Here, the birds are restricted
to a certain amount of grassland. One basic characteristic of this system is the apparent
restriction of the birds in the fixed building with runs provided for grazing. Often more than one
run is provided to permit rotational grazing.

Advantages of semi-intensive system

i. The system is low in cost.

Disadvantages of semi-intensive system.

i. Losses may be encountered by birds from preys and from failure to find eggs laid in
bushy areas. The poultry run requires a considerable amount of fencing.

Intensive system
This is the current practice in poultry operations. The birds are confined in poultry houses or
cages and do not have any access to grassland at all. This system prevents access to pasture
(unless it is brought to the birds), and sunshine except that allowed in through the design of the
birds for Vitamin B. in the intensive system of poultry keeping, particular attention must be paid
to feeding of the birds. A complete ration must be supplied since they have no access to eat
insects, worms, and greens to supplement their feeding. The deep litter and cage systems are
found here.

Deep liter system

This consists of a fixed building having suitable litter spread on the floor not only to absorb
moisture from the drinker, but also to protect the new chick from being chilled from the cold
floors. The litter also makes cleaning the floor of droppings easy. The birds are totally confined
to the house and are not given the opportunity of running out in the open. This is a popular
system of poultry keeping, and to make a success of it, the litter must be kept dry so that the
droppings are absorbed. Bacterial will then decay the droppings and litter into mass dry and
friable materials which is odorless and comparatively hygienic.

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The floor of the deep litter house should be cemented and strong to prevent entry of rats and
mice. A cemented floor also improve the efficiency of washing the floor clean of old litter
materials.
The floor should then be covered with suitable litter, which may be wood shaving, crushed cobs
of maize or peanut shells. Dry sawdust is not suitable since it may easily block the nostrils of the
birds when they peck the litter, or it may irritate the nasal passage and throat, predisposing the
birds to respiratory infections.
Advantages of the deep litter system
i. The litter converts poultry droppings into a drier materials which is easier to clean and
remove
ii. The litter helps in the control of disease through the reduction of the concentration of
pathogens.
iii. The litter also buffers temperature rise, thus helping to prevent spread. Higher temps.
Increase chance of disease spread.
iv. The action of micro-organism on litter and on dropping produces animal protein factor
(APF) which includes Vitamin B12 which is essential for the development of chick
embryos and thus for hatchability of eggs.
v. Since the litter absorbs the droppings, it indirectly helps the removal of droppings and
cleaning of the floors.
vi. It provide bath to birds (decrease ectoparasite)

Disadvantages of the deep litter system

i. Possibility of liter born disease
ii. More expensive than semi-intensive system.

The cage system (Battery Cage System)

In this system, the birds are housed in individual metal compartments (cages) either singly, or in
twos or threes usually for egg laying. The bird do not come in contact with poultry droppings and
so the eggs are cleaner than those produced in other systems. Each compartment is usually a
living and laying nest, well ventilated, and made of galvanized iron. The construction include a

5
sloping floor, feed and water troughs. The sloping floor extends forwards and folds gently to
form the cradle from which the eggs are collected.
Cage operations may vary from complete manual operation to semiautomatic and to fully
automatic operations, including manure removal.
Advantages of the Cage System
i. The birds are free from some of the problems associated with mutual contacts or social
friction resulting in vice habits e.g. pecking.
ii. Because of the absence of contact between the birds and their droppings, disease spread
is minimized
iii. Feed and water intake may be recorded. Egg sucking is avoided, and birds may be
identifiable for production records, in all, individual records are possible.
iv. Less space requirement.
v. Birds are under complete control.
vi. Inspection and culling is easy.
vii. Scientific management practices can be followed
viii. Litter problems are eliminated.

Disadvantages of the Cage System

i. Difficulties in ensuring proper ventilation to birds especially in summer season and under
very high dense conditions
ii. Incidence of leg problem, cage layer fatigue, fatty liver syndrome, flies and obnoxious
gases in the house will be on increase.
iii. Hysteriosis of chicks
iv. Possibilities of Egg breaking.
v. Overhead cost which is high.

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 CHAPTER THREE
Poultry management under intensive system of rearing
Poultry birds are classified into three stages, which are chick, growing stage and the finish stage.

Chick management
Brooding
Brooding is the art and science of rearing baby chicks. A newly hatched chick does not develop
the thermoregulatory mechanism fully and takes about two weeks to develop this mechanism and
homeostasis. Therefore, they cannot maintain the body temperature properly for the first few
weeks of life; and may be subjected to chilling, if not properly taking care of. It entails
essentially, the provision of factors like heat, light, humidity, ventilation, feed, water and disease
control measures for the survival and rapid growth of chicks.
The efficient combination of these factors will determine the physical and physiological
development and also the mortality of the chicks. Ideally, chicks should be brooded in a house
that is not located near other poultry or older birds. This is to prevent disease transmission.
Brooding period for broiler chicks is 3 weeks during dry season and 4 weeks during raining
season, while it is 5 weeks for layers.
Brooding method
Brooding can be classified into natural and artificial brooding.

Natural brooding
This the care of chicks by a mother her after hatching, up to 3 to 4 weeks of age. The local fowl
are suitable for the method. Depending on her size, a hen can brood 12-20 chicks. This include
the chicks she hatches and the ones fostered on her when day-old chicks are placed with her.
This method is used where only few chickens are raised each year and not suitable for a
commercial scale operation.
Artificial Brooding

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This involves the use of special appliances which provide conditions similar to those of the
broody hen such as adequate warmth, protection from harsh external factors of weather (wind,
rain, temperature) and predators. In artificial brooding large number of baby chicks are reared in
the absence of broody hen. Equipment used for brooding are called brooders. Brooder comprises
of three elements:
1. Heating source
2. Reflectors
3. Brooder guard
Heating source may be electrical, gases like natural gas, LPG and methane, liquid fuel like
kerosene, solid fuel like coal, wood can be used as a heating material.
Charcoal stove / kerosene stove: Where electricity is not available, ordinary charcoal / kerosene
stoves are used to provide supplementary heat to chicks. These stoves are covered with plate /
pans to dissipate the heat.
Gas brooder: Natural gas, LPG or methane is connected to heating element which is hanged 3
to 5 feet above the chick to provide heat.
Electrical brooder: It is also thermostatically controlled heating system that spread required
amount of heat uniformly above large area, this avoid crowding of chicks under brooder
directly. One electrical brooder can be used for 300 to 400 chicks.
Infra-red bulbs: It is a self-reflecting bulb. One 250 watts IR bulb can provide brooding for
about 150 to 250 chicks.
Reflectors: These reflectors are called Hovers. Flat type hover – These hovers are provided with
heating element, heating mechanism and pilot lamp and in some cases thermometer is also there
in order to record the temperature. Canopy type hover – These reflectors are in concave shape
consisting of ordinary electrical bulb, thermostat mechanism and in some cases thermometer.
Brooder guard / chick guard: They are used to prevent chicks from straying too far away from
heat supply until they learn the source of heat. We have to provide brooder guard with a
diameter of 5 feet, height of the brooder should not exceed 1.5 feet. For this purpose, we can use
materials like cardboard sheet, GI sheet, wire mesh, and mat etc. depending upon the season of
brooding. During winter season, brooding is done for 5-6 days. In summer season it is 2-3
weeks.
Preparation for the arrival of chicks

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It is critical for the poultry farmer totake all necessary steps before he takes delivery of the day-
old chicks. This will lessen stress on the chicks and increase their survival rate during brooding
periods. It is advisable to start the preparations for brooding chicks about three weeks before
their arrival. The following activities should be carried out:
i. Removed old litter from the house if already in use, remove cobwebs and dust on the
wood frames, sweep the house and then thoroughly wash and disinfect the house using a
suitable disinfectant like izal, dettol etc.
ii. Repair the house, if necessary, mend leaking roofs, plaster cracks on the wall and
crevices on the floor, and repair doors too.
iii. Feeders and drinkers should be thoroughly washed and disinfected.
iv. The house should then be sealed up and fumigated if possible especially in buildings
which are not open-sided.
v. The needed equipment should be purchased and tested to be functional.
vi. The house should be left empty for a period of not less than two weeks to destroy any
surviving disease causing agent through starvation.
vii. Two days to the arrival of chicks, the house should be swept and the equipment cleaned.
viii. Store litter material up to a depth of 5cm on the floor and test run the heating system for
its efficiency in heating the brooder.
ix. If a half open-sided house will be used, the open sides should be covered with plastic
sheets, mats, empty feed bags or any suitable material.
x. A few hours before the arrival of chicks, put on the heater, fill the drinkers with clean
cool water, put feed in the trough not more than a depth of one and half and also sprinkle
some on flat feeders which are adequate for the first week.
Handling of Chicks on Arrival
i. The following steps are very important to be noted:
ii. The chicks should be unboxed and inspected individually for defects and apparently
healthy ones should be put under the brooder hover. The deformed ones should be killed
while the weak chicks are aided to drink water.
iii. After settling them up, they should be observed for some minutes to be sure that they are
in a state of comfort.

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 iv. If the chicks spread evenly under the hover, they are considered comfortable. If they
huddled in the center close to the heater, they are cold and if they are far from the heater,
then the brooder is too hot. Thus, the heater should be regulated to produce the right
temperature.
v. Do not allow visitors into the brooder house.
vi. Remove slippers and shoes while entering the house.
vii. Ensure the door is closed always so as to maintain the temperature during brooding
period.
Attendants should always wear clean clothing and dip feet inside disinfectant water before
entering the brooder house.
Factors affecting performance of chicks:
Quality of the chicks: No amount of care can convert a potentially poor chick into a good one.
The chick should therefore be of sound constitution and from disease free parents.
Temperature: the young chick must be exposed to a relatively high temperature to assist its
development since the body temperature of the chicks is lower than that of the adult. The
supplemental heat thus enables the chick to attain adult body temperature without much stress
and mortality.

Relative humidity: The importance of RH in this regard is through its interaction with
temperature. When humidity is too low, the chicks may get dehydrated, and if too high, the
growth of pathogens may be stimulated. Optimum RH is 50 – 70%.

Ventilation: This is necessary in order to meet the respiratory needs of the chick, to supply O 2 to
remove CO2, NH3 and moisture and heat.

Feed and Water: Brooding cannot be successful unless light also enable them to see the feed,
and assists growth. The light should not be too bright and should preferably be continuous.

Light: Prolonged darkness may injure the eyes of the chicks. Light also enables them to see the
feed, and assists growth, the light should not be too bright and should preferably be continuous.

GROWER STAGE

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This are birds aged from 5 weeks to 14 weeks that are well feathered, their feed change from
chicks mash to grower mash. The grower need more ventilation than the chicks, a forced
ventilation rate of 0.03m3 /s is recommended to reduce ambient temperature and purify the
atmosphere. Ventilation helps to provide the birds with fresh air and to carry off moisture.
The grower require lower environmental temperature than the chicks. They require a moderate
temperature but need a high temperature at night when they are in active than during the day. A
relative humidity of 50-80% is adequate for growers.
The grower’ feed (growers mash) is specifically formulated to meet the Energy, protein (amino
acid), mineral and vitamin requirements of growers to achieve maximum growth and production
potential.

FINISH STAGE
This is the period start when broiler is 5 weeks of age till the 8 th or 9th weeks, but for pullet, is
starts from age 15 weeks upward. Broiler Finisher feeds account for the major cost of feeding
and economic principles should be applied to the design of these feeds. Changes in body
composition can be rapid during this period and excessive fat deposition and loss of breast meat
yield need to be carefully considered. In pullet, the feed change from grower mash to finisher

mash.

Daily activities or routine which enhance fowl productive

This are the activities you carry out in the farm on daily basis, no matter little or how small they
are they must be carry out. Failure in doing this may result to negative effect in the lives of
animals in the farm. These routine include;
i. Fresh clean water must be given to the poultry birds every day to improve fowl
productive, and the drinkers must be cleaned before supplying the chicks with water.
ii. Ensure moderate and quality feeding of the poultry birds to enhance fowl productive.
iii. Regular observation of the birds for easy culling of the sick birds, isolate them and treat
them after correct diagnosis of the problem.
iv. Egg collection in case of layers.
v. Clean feeders in the morning before feeds are supplied.

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 vi. Check for faulty drinkers and feeders and replace or repair as the case may be.
vii. Check for mortality in the house. Always burn or bury any dead birds so as to prevent the
spread of the disease.

Weekly activities or Routine which leads to fowl productive

These are the activities carry out in the farm on weekly basis, as highlighted above that daily
activities are essentials, as well weekly routine cannot be underrated.
i. Washing drinkers and feeders help fowl production a lot: washing drinkers and feeders
are important to keep poultry birds in good condition and healthy. Dirty drinkers and
feeder housed agent of disease, they help in spreading diseases in the poultry so to avoid
this they must be kept clean at all time.
ii. Cleaning droppings improves fowl production: This is another thing to do every week, to
some farmers this is a dirty work. Generally, this is done manually and must be remove
every week irrespective of caging system you are using. Accumulated dropping produces
ammonia gas which may result to the springing up of any related diseases in the farm,
therefore to avoid this they should be removing weekly.
iii. Cleaning of the brooding house: the house should be cleaned out at least weekly to
prevent a buildup of organic matter, which puts your birds at more risk from respiratory
problems and disease.
iv. Checking of birds regularly for lice infestation and delouse the flock if found necessary.
v. Clean wire net regularly since the dusty net disallows the incoming air and predisposes,
the birds to respiratory infections.
vi. Remove cobwebs on regular basis

Occasional activities or Routine which affect fowl productive

This are the activities which are carry out on occasional basis, they include;
i. Debeaking of birds to avert cannibalism and sucking of eggs (in case of layers).
ii. Control of external parasite. By cleaning the surroundings of the pen.

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 iii. Dispose all litters away from the pen. This will reduce the spread of diseases to the
lowest level.
iv. Medication: administer some drugs like antibiotic, at time up to day five of the month
depending on the direction of the drugs. Also, administer multivitamins to complement
their feed, then try to deworm the birds.
v. Prevent wild birds from entering the poultry house. Wild birds are carriers of most
poultry diseases.
vi. Prevent rats or rodents from gaining entry into the poultry house.

Feeds and Feeding Management in Broiler Chickens Production

Feeds for Broiler chickens, other poultry or livestock refers to materials which when ingested
provide the animal with basic nutrients such as energy, protein, vitamin and mineral. Feeds vary
in terms of quality or quantity of the nutrient supplied. Feed type depends on the class and/or
physiological stage of the bird. Starter feed for instance refers to feed given to broiler chickens
between 0-4weeks of age, while finisher feed refers to feed given between 4-8 weeks.
For a profitable broiler production, the conversion of feed to meat must be done efficiently and
economically. Adequate nutrition and balanced diet is essential. Crude protein requirement for
starting broiler is 22-23%, crude fibre is 4-5%, fat is 4-4.5% and the metabolizable energy is
2800-3000kcal/kg. Similarly, crude protein requirement for finishing broiler is 19 - 20%, crude
fibre 5 – 6.5% and the metabolizable energy is 3000-3150kcal/kg (table 1).
When chickens are provided with high quality feed in the required quantity, it promotes body
maintenance, improves production (growth and body weight), and it gives energy and confers
good health and vitality. Maintenance of the body is the first consideration in good feeding and
production follows thereafter.
Two (2) feeding regimes: starter (0-4weeks) and finisher (4-8weeks) diets for broiler production
and management are considered suitable for most farmers. However, it is important to note that
there are up to four feeding regimes for broiler production. They are pre-starter, starter, grower
and finisher. The feeding regime utilized is a function of the production targets (very fast growth
for quick market or slow growth for later market).

Table 1: Feed Guide for Broiler and Cockerel

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 BIRD AGE FEED TYPE CRUDE METABOLIZABLE
TYPE (WEEKS) PROTEIN (%) ENERGY (KJ/KG)
Broiler
Starter 0-4 Broiler Starter 22-23 2800-3000
Finisher 4-8 Broiler Finisher 19-20 3000-3150
Cockerel
Chick 0-8 Chick Mash 20 2800
Grower 8->20 Grower Mash 17-18 2750-2800

Table 2: Broiler Requirements

WEEK FEED INTAKE PER BIRD PER DAY EXPECTED WEIGHT
PER BIRD (gm) PER 100 BIRDS (kg) GAIN (gm)
1 18 1.8 120
2 45 4.5 300
3 70 7.0 600
4 95 9.5 800
5 120 12.0 1200
6 130 13.0 1550
7 150 15.0 1900
8 165 16.5 2300

Table 3: Layers Feed Requirement

WEEK FEED PER BIRD PER GRAM
1 15
2 25
3 30
4 35
5 37
6 40
7 45
8 50
9 55
10 58
11 60
12 65
13 68
14 70
15 80
16 90
17 100
18 110 14
19-70 115
 CHAPTER FOUR

VACCINATION AND MEDICATION

Intra ocular Vaccination against New castle disease (NCD) at one day old.
The ‘strick’ method of vaccination against fowl pox. This involves stabbing the wing-web with
the vaccine at 2 weeks.
At six week, intramuscular injection (immunization) against fowl typhoid and against NCD.

Table 4: Recommended vaccination programme for Pullets/Cockerels

AGE VACCINATION/DRUG ROUTE
DAY
1 Mareks Subcutaneous (s/c)
1 NDHBI, ND1/0 Spray, intraocular
1-5 Antibiotics + vitamin Oral
10 Gumborol (IBD) Oral
17 Gumboro 2 Oral
20 Lasota 1 Oral
35 Gumboro 3 Oral
WEEK
3 Coccodiostat Oral
6 Coccidiostst Oral
6 Coryza Subcutaneous (Pullet only)
7 Antibiotics Oral
8 Fowl Pox Wing web

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 9 Dewormer Oral
10 Lasota 2 Oral
11 Dewormer Oral
12 Fowl cholera Subcutaneous (Pullet only)
16 Egg dropsyndrome (EDS) + NVD (K) Subcutaneous (Pullet only)

Important information

Each vaccination should be followed by multivitamins in water.

Deworming is done once in 3 months.

Antibiotics should be given every months (3-5 days).

Repeat Lasota every month (it could be waived if oil emulsion was used).

Table 5: Recommended vaccination programme for broilers

AGE VACCINATION/DRUG ROUTE

DAY
1 NDV 1/0 Ocular
1-5 Antibiotics Oral
10 Gumboro 1 Oral
14 Lasota 1 Oral
17 Gumboro 2 Oral
WEEK
3 Coccodiostat Oral
4 Lasota 2 Oral
5 Antibiotics Oral
6 Coccodiostat Oral
6 Dewormer Oral

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Note: Multivitamins should be given in water after any vaccination, antibiotics, dewormer and
coccidiostat are given.

CHAPTER FIVE
TURKEY
Turkeys belong to the species maleagris gallopavo. It is the largest poultry species after ostrich
reaching 10 – 15kg live weights. They are raised mainly for the meat. Turkey has been closely
associated with festivities most especially Christmas as it is highly demanded during this period.
Turkey production is not popular among the farmers due to limited knowledge about its rearing,
unavailability of imported poults and the high cost of poults coupled with the high selling cost of
mature turkey which is beyond the purchasing power of average citizen.
They can be raised on the floor like chickens either extensively or intensively. For commercial
purposes, the following brooding and rearing requirements are important:
1. Floor space of 0.8 – 1.5m2/s / bird
2. Supply 1 baby drinker / 40 poults
3. Supply 1 flat feeder / 50 poults
4. Change to large drinkers and feeders from 6 weeks.
5. Supply heat (charcoal, stove) for 1 – 5 weeks
6. Not necessary to rear them with pullets or cockerels. They can be raised alone.
7. Imported poults are raised with quality feeds (29%CP, 3100kcal/kg) for 5 -6 months for
festivals.

Table 6: Feed requirement for turkey

REARING ENERGY KCAL/KG PROTEIN (%) CA (%)
0 – 6 weeks 3100 29.0 1.5 – 2.0
7 – 30 weeks 2900 25.0 2.0 – 2.5
31 – end 2700 20.0 4 – 5.5

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Management practices in Turkey production
1. Do not raise male and female from the same source together. It causes inbreeding and
affects their performance
2. 1 male to 5 females is good for better performance
3. Vaccinate against viral diseases regularly.
4. Medicate against CRD on monthly basis
5. Do not allow them to incubate or sit on their eggs. They stop laying during incubation.
6. Clean water and fresh feeds are preferred
7. Give clean litters and remove mouldy litters.
8. Provide good ventilation and cool water during hot weather
9. Supply multivitamins on monthly basis
10. In case of leg problems, supply extra calcium in their feed or litter.

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 CHAPTER SIX
POULTRY RECORDS
This is the day to day record of activities that are carried out on the farm. It include sales
record, no of birds, mortality, purchase of feeds etc. Like in any business, keeping of
adequate records is very vital in poultry management. A business without a readable and
well-kept records is like a body without a soul. If the business is profitable or not, it is the
records that will show.

Advantages of keeping Records

a) To determine the profit margin
b) To make business decisions
c) Detection and correction of management errors
d) To detect and stop the spread of diseases
e) To evaluate the management efficiencies.

Table 7: Sample records keeping for layers, broilers and cockerels

DATE AGE NO MORTALI BALANC FEEDS MED/ REMAR
(DAY OF TY E VAC KS
S) BIRD
S
K N TYPE N
G
1/7/201 1 100 2 98 50 100 Vitalyte 3000
9 0

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 2/7/201 2 98 2 96 50 100 Vitalyte 3000
9 0

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Systematically explain the production of egg laying birds

2. Describe the process of brooding in turkey
3. Explain the daily management practices in the laying pens
4. Discuss the processing of rearing broilers from day old

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