BROILER BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS

Introduction.

Broiler enterprise is a growing business enterprise in developing countries with diverse challenges, needs and capacities including infrastructures, level of education and technical capacities with common trends which include lack of access to and uptake of appropriate innovations, insufficient investment in research and challenges of harnessing science and evidence for decision making.

These material aims to equip farmers with knowledge to comprehend and adapt broiler business fundamentals to mitigate risks and enhance profitability.

Learning objectives.

1. Understand the basic functions of a poultry house, optimum environment requirements of broilers, features of a good poultry house and management of the poultry house.

2. Understand the characteristics of a good feeder and drinker and their recommended spacing.

3. Understand desirable traits of a good broiler strain and qualities of a good chick stock.

4. Understand preparation practices of the brooder and management of broiler chicks in the brooder.

5. Equip knowledge on the general management practices of broilers and ways to maximize profits.

BROILER POULTRY HOUSE.

A proper broiler house should serve two basic functions.

Should provide a physical conducive environment to optimize meat production.

Should permit the organization and concentration of the flock into a manageable unit.

Optimum environment requirements of broilers.

1. Temperature 

During the brooding process, the room temperature should be altered with time. Initially in the first week the room temperature should be about 35⁰C. Thereafter, temperature should be reduced by 3⁰C per week until the chicks have sufficient feathers 

In absence of a thermometer, monitor the behavior of chicks. Chicks behavior serves as an indicator in the variation of the room temperature. High temperature in broilers increases metabolism resulting to heat stress, decreased feed intake hence a decline in growth rate, retarded growth leading to economic loss.

After brooding for a period of 4 weeks maintain a room temperature of (20-25)⁰C.

2. Humidity 

Poultry house relative humidity should be below 75% and moisture content of litter below 30%.

High humidity impacts the health and growth of broilers due to the increased risk of respiratory diseases, reduced feed conversation efficiency, poor feather quality, foot pad lesions and overall discomfort for the birds.  Also moisture content in litter enhance growth of bacteria and moulds contributing to foot problems and skin disorders.

Therefore the poultry house should require adequate ventilation to allow the prevailing winds blow through the house and carry away moisture. A poultry house below 6 metres in width promotes natural ventilation.

3.Ventilation 

Adequate house ventilation allows in oxygen that the bird needs for respiration and removes fowl gases (ammonia and carbon dioxide) and water vapor. High ammonia levels in a poultry house is hazardous to broilers leading to low bird appetite, reduced growth rate, increase susceptibility to respiratory diseases, blindness, Ascites development (accumulation of fluids in the birds abdomen).

4. Light.

Continuous lighting 24/7 in broiler house is beneficial, It encourages them to eat and grow fast. However one hour of darkness per day helps to make the broilers accustomed to darkness so as to prevent panic, piling up and suffocation of birds Incase of power failure.

To attain uniform lighting, suspend light bulbs 3 metres apart in the center of the poultry house.

Selection of a site for poultry house.

Inorder to ensure an optimum house environment the following should considered when selecting a site for a broiler poultry house.

Set the poultry house on a well drained ground not in swampy areas/ valleys.

Avoid building close to plantation/tall structures which will obstruct wind flow through the poultry house.

Consider accessibility to trucks, water source, security and electricity.

Choose the best orientation to take advantage of the prevailing winds.

Build away from piggery and dairy ban to avoid noise.

Ensure a grass cover in the compound to absorb sun's rays which would reflect in the poultry house.

A few well positioned trees in the compound will provide shade and help cool the poultry house on hot days without obstruct the air flow.

Features of a good poultry house.

1. Footbath

A footbath measuring 4ft*5ft*0.25ft at the entrance door is essential to disinfect entrants and mitigate the risk of spreading diseases from the surrounding environment to the poultry house.

2. Roof

A roof should protect birds from direct sun radiation and rain. It be leak proof, durable, a good heat conduct and vermin proof. Roof materials include iron sheets, grass.

3. Roof over hang.

A 3ft over hang, protects the broilers from hot sun and rain water blown in the direction of the house fitted on open sided walls.

4. Wall.

A strong wall to support the roof and withstand strong wind. In the tropics open sided wall design promotes natural ventilation fitted with chicken proof wire mesh. Brooder walls should be full solid walls to conserve warmth.

Ensure smooth wall to ease cleaning.

5. Floor 

The floor should be made of concrete. Easy to clean, moisture proof, vermin proof and durable.

Management of the broiler house.

The underlying principle is to keep the house, utensils and the surrounding of the house clean to mitigate the risk of outbreak of diseases. The following should be taken seriously to manage the broiler house and mitigate risk of disease outbreak.

Ensure the footbath is filled with disinfectant solution at the entrance door.

Dead birds must, as a rule, be disposed burried/ burned immediately. Don't throw it to rubbish pits scavenging animals will drag the body and spread them over a wide area.

Keep unnecessary visitors away from the poultry house. These are potential sources of infectious diseases.

Adopt an all-in/ all-out programme, avoid mixing batches.

Regularly turn the litter with a rake and shovel to keep the litter clean and enhance litters moisture absorption ability to prevent caking of litter.

Ensure a leak proof house, replacing and repairing the roof.

Ensure a vermin proof house, blocking any holes to eradicate rats that may eat the poultry feed and could also transmit diseases.

Cleaning and disinfection of broiler house.

This aims to keep the level of disease causing micro-organisms as low as possible. Chemical disinfect is the most effective method. Chemical components in these disinfectants include Phenols, alcohol, acids, salts of heavy metals and hypochlorite an example of common disfectant is Bio-safe.

Procedure for disinfection of poultry house.

Remove all the birds of the house has been in use.

Remove all the feeders and drinkers, clean them thoroughly with detergents and dry them under the sun.

Remove all the litter from the house.

Sweep the floor and dust off the wall, dust reduces the effectiveness of the disinfectants.

Soak the floor and walls with plenty of water to ensure thorough wetting.

Scrub and wash down all the dirt using detergent, then allow drying then rinse and allow to dry.

Apply the disinfectant carefully following the manufacturers instruction.

Leave the house to rest for at least 2 weeks before setting it for another batch of birds.

Broiler poultry house equipment.

Good poultry house equipment should make it convenient for farmer and must provide comfort to the birds at the least possible cost per bird. Examples of broiler poultry house equipment include feeders and drinkers.

It is very common to have improvised item such as plastic basins and broken pots used as feeding equipments. Whatever the material used must satisfy the basic standards of a feeder/drinkers.

Characteristics of a good broiler feeder.

It should not allow contamination of feed by birds.

It should be designed to avoid excessive feed spillage.

It should be easy to clean.

It should be easy to fill with feed.

It should be readily accessible to the birds so as to enhance feed intake.

Feeder space for Broiler Chicken.

The space available on the feeder should be enough to allow each bird to access the feed, so  ample feeding space is essential.

Recommended space requirement on a linear feeder considering both side of the linear feeder.
Age (week)     trough space(cm/bird)
0-2.                              1.5
3-4.                              2.5
5-7.                              5.0

Recommended space for a tube feeder is 4cm per adult bird.

Drinkers/ waterers.

Plastic chick founts available on the market may be used during the brooding period. For finishing broilers, plastic basins (10litre capacity) are used widely by small-scale poultry farmers. One basin can serve upto 30 birds but it is essential to maintain high level of cleanliness.

Recommended water capacity for chick fount per 50birds are.
Age(weeks).                Water capacity 
0-2.                                 1(4)litre
2-4.                                 2(4)litre

BROILER STRAINS.

Broilers are both male and female chicken which have been selected and breed for meat, fast growth to attain (1.8-2.0)kg body weight in short period of (8-10) weeks.

The day one old broiler chicks supplied to farmers are not pure breeds. They are a result of crosses between several pure breeds and their hybrids hence called strains.
Poultry breeders don't normally release information about which breeds they have crossed to develop a particular strain. The breeding firms usually assign names to the strains they develop.

Examples of broiler strains include Hybro broiler, Ross broiler, Cobb broilers, Arbor acres broilers, Ingham broilers, DeKalb, Babcock.

Desirable traits of a good broiler strain.

It is essential for farmers to obtain information pertaining the expected performance of a given selected strain to trace it's traits. This is information can be obtained from the hatchery/ chick suppliers. The following are the desirable traits of a good broiler strain.

Rapid growth rate able to attain (1.8-2.0)kg in (6-8)weeks.

A satisfactory feed conversion rate with a cumulative feed conversion rate at 8th week below 2.5

Low mortality rate and few genetic defects.

A broad chest and wide compact body which can hold a lot of meat.

High carcass quality and body conformation (a plump carcass is desirable)

Chick Quality

It is essential to start with high quality chicks to mitigate risk of diseases, high chick mortality rate and maximize profitability of the broiler enterprise. The following are the qualities of a good broiler chick stock. Therefore as a farmer crosscheck to ensure you are procuring good quality chicks.

Chick should be alert and active.

Chicks should have no deformities.

Chicks should have bright eyes.

Chicks should have closed navals.

Chicks should be of a uniform size.

Chicks of deep yellow colour are preferred over pale yellow colour.

Chicks have bright, waxy legs without swellings/ redness.

If the parent stock is diseased, some diseases will be transmitted to chicks through the eggs hence chicks will develop symptoms such as diarrhoea during first week associated with high chick mortality rate in the first week.

BROODING BROILER CHICKS.

When chicks are still young, they are weak, delicate with a poor feather cover hence susceptible to chilling. Under natural brooding a broody hen takes care of her chicks whereas during artificial brooding special care is provided to chicks under a brooder house

Preparation of the Brooder house.

Prepare the brooder house and feeding equipments by cleaning, sanitization and disinfection at least 2 weeks before the chicks arrive. This time interval will help break the the cycle of most disease causing organisms.

Mark the brooder area and seal it with brooder guards (1metre in height)

Seal off sharp corners with brooder guards to mitigate risk of crowding and suffocation of chicks.

Spread the litter in the brooding area, at least 12cm deep. More litter may be required as brooding area increases with time.

Turn on the heat source before chicks arrive (6-12)hours.

Spread newspaper over the litter in the brooder area. Sprinkle some chick feeds but these must be removed within the first 4days.

Setup the feed troughs and drinkers, making sure they are well spaced and there is sufficient feeding and drinking space.

Fill the drinkers with rehydration solution when the chicks arrive. When this is finished, refill with clean cool water.

Fill the feeders after chicks have been drinking for (2-3)hours.

Ensure and provide continuous lighting to allow broilers eat the time.

Monitoring chicks in the Brooder.

Chicks behavior is a reliable criterion for determining change of temperature in the brooder house.

At high temperatures chicks make noise, pant, heads and wings drop 

and are away from the heat source.

At low temperature chicks crowd to the heat source, noisy with a distress calling.

At correct temperature, chicks are evenly spread, active, noise level signifies contentment.

A draught pattern of chicks crowding in a given direction requires investigation influenced by draught, intrusion of a predator, uneven light distribution associated with extreme noise.

Broiler brooder space requirements.

The brooder area is enlarged as chicks grow bigger in size. The feeders and drinkers should be moved further away from the center and more feeders should be provided as chicks grow older. Below is a summary of the broiler space requirements.

Age(week).         Space requirements 

1.                            100chicks/m²

2.                              50chiicks/m²

3-4.                           25chicks/m²

5-8.                         10-15chicks/m²

General management of Broiler Chicken.

1. Feeding

Fresh clean water is essential at all times. A broiler will drink 2-3 litres of water per each kilogram of feed consumed. Alternation of temperature affects water intake. Drinkers should never run dry. Clean the drinkers on a daily basis.

Feeders to should never run out of feed. Broilers need to eat much feed to grow faster. It is very important to feed broilers on the correct type of feed.

The conventional broiler rations are.

i) Broiler starter contains (23-24)% crude protein, 3200 kcal/kg of feed. This is fed to chicks during the first 4 weeks of the birds life.

ii). Broiler finisher contains (19-20)% crude protein, 3200kcal/kg of feed. This is fed to broilers from 4 weeks of age to marketing age.

Male broilers grow faster than the females. In the developed countries, the two sexes are rested separately because their feed requirements are different.

2. Litter management.

Poor litter management led to damp and hard pan (caked litter) which cause the development of breast blisters/cysts lowering the quality of the dressed broiler.

Incase of mouldy litter chicks are at the risk of suffering from brooder pneumonia (Aspergillosis) and other respiratory diseases.

In addition, poorly managed litter leads to accumulation of ammonia in the poultry house with it's effects. 

The following should be adhered to manage litter

Make sure you rear growing broilers on deep clean litter (15cm).

Ensure optimum stocking rate.

Avoid water spillage otherwise the litter will be damp and mouldy.

Turn the litter regularly to keep it dry and friable.

Ensure adequate ventilation 

Maintain a leak-proof roof.

3. Management of broiler health.

Broiler farmers should make efforts to maintain satisfactory flock health.

i) Vaccination

Broilers need to be vaccinated against diseases prevailing the farmers locality. The vaccination programme is usually designed to meet the local area needs. Vaccination schedules are usually recommended by breeders as well as veterinary staff.

Diseases that are vaccinated against include Newcastle disease, Gumboro, Fowl pox.

Vaccines contain live disease causing micro organisms. Much care must be taken in the handling, transportation, storage and administration of the vaccine. Therefore it is important to strictly follow the manufacturers instructions.

ii) Prevention of coccidiosis.

Coccidiosis diseases affect the digestive tract. A disease bird will loss appetite, look dull with blood strains in the droppings. Once there is an out break in the deep litter house. It spreads fast, since birds are in the direct contact with their droppings they will keep swallowing the infective organisms and spread them on to other birds.

A coccidiostat is normally incorporated in the feed as a measure to control coccidiosis.

Incase of an outbreak, birds must be given a correct treatment immediately the disease is confirmed. Treated by mixing Amprol in the drinking water.

iii) Control of worms infestation.

Broilers which are reared on litter need regular deworming failure to do this may lead to poor growth rate 

iv) Ascites (water belly)

This is a health condition that is characterized by accumulation of fluids in the abdominal cavity of the bird. the affected bird moves and breathes with difficulty and may eventually die.

This disease is encourage by several factors which include poor ventilation, high altitude, respiratory problem, genetic factors. Broilers being heavy are susceptible to Ascites.

Proper ventilation to avoid ammonia and dust accumulation, prevents and control Ascites. A proper vaccination programme will prevent respiratory diseases which are predisposing factors of Ascites.

4. Culling

Culling refers to the removal of unproductive birds from the poultry house. Runts and deformed broilers must be removed as soon as they are identified.

Ways to maximize profits in broiler enterprise.

1. Efficient use of feeds. the reduction of feed costs therefore increases profits. Feed cost may be reduced by the following.

Use cheap but good quality feed ingredients (feedstuff) to avoid compromising quality, it is beneficial to procure good quality feedstuffs in bulk when prices are low and store them.

Minimize feed wastage. Wastage may be caused by using poor quality feeders/rats.

Closing loopholes of possible theft of feeds an feed ingredients.

Avoid spoilage, during storage by ensuring proper storage conditions, making sure that the feed and feedstuffs are properly dried before storage.

2. Maximize production at the correct time of the year, when market prices are favourable. This requires adequate planning and adequate market information.

3. Use good quality labour and remunerate/ compensate labourers properly. Cheap labour may be expensive in the long run

4. Keep the right type of poultry strains. Buy chicks from a reliable supplier. Get all the necessary information about the strain that you are purchasing showing growth curve, feed intake, feed conversion rate of the selected strain.

5. Keep proper production records and accounts. All records must be analyzed interpreted for the betterment of the enterprise. It is wastage of time and resources to keep records which are never analyzed and interpreted.

In conclusion.

Broiler enterprise is a challenging but a highly profitable enterprise. As a farmer you should provide optimum environment condition in the poultry house, feed broilers on the correct feedstuff, prevent worm infestation and control diseases to ensure broilers grow fast and fat.

Before embarking on keeping commercial broilers. You should be sure of the market for your birds at the time they are ready for sale. Broilers consume alot of feed, the longer they stay on the farm, the more feed costs incurred hence minimizing profits.