poultry breeding

1. Principles of poultry breeding
• The selection of breed is very important aspect in poultry
farming.
• Only selective breeds capable of yielding maximum return
in particular condition are of economic importance
• The selection of breed can be for egg production or for
table purpose or for dual purpose of obtaining egg and
flesh
• In Indian condition leghorn especially the white the white
leghorn breed is best.
• It lay about 210-250 egg annually.
• Now days hybrid chicken obtain by crossing white cornish
male with plymouth female

2. Breeding in fowl
The successful poultry keeping systematic breeding of
fowl must be practice
• The largest and best farm fowls should be selected
• The weak, sick and stunt birds should not be taken
• Hens should always be good layers
• Two year hen should be selected to breed with cock of
one year ago
• The male fowl should be of different family from hen
• The hen must be mated with cock superior to her
• For successful breeding nutritive food and intelligent
management is essential

3. Cross Breeding
• For cross breeding purposes, a good
knowledge of the characteristics of different
breeds is essential because all crosses are not
good
• The first cross of both the pure hen and pure
cock is the best egg laying but should never be
used for further breeding

4. Selection of best layers
• An active intelligent looking birds with a bright
comb, would always be the better layer than
the dull lazy hen
• The thick, sluggish and poorly feathered hen
be avoided for breeding.
• The hen in which pelvic bone are fine and
wide apart will be a good layer

5. Management of breeding stock and
broilers
Egg and hatching
• The hens normally start egg laying from February and continue till
august
• Few hens lay from October to January
• The rainy season is the best time to raise chicken
Because
• There is availability of green food for birds
• The tree and shrub are in full foliage to provide protection
• The chicken in this season grow fast
• The egg of rainy season are very fertile and hatch well
• The chicken hatches from October to the end of January
• The most favorable period in the plains of the India is from January
to April.

6. Selection of Egg
Following care should be taken
• The egg of the best hen must be set
• The fresh egg (3-5 days old in hot weather and
7-10 days old in cold weather) must be set
• The egg of too small and to large size must be
rejected
• The egg should be of ordinary size and smooth
surface which should be allowed to hatch

7. The Treatment of egg
• After placing the egg under the hen, one should
see every day that they are all right
• If any egg is broken the remaining egg must be
removed washed with water, dried
• The water used for washing must be 102 o F
• The fertility of egg can be tested by taking
cardboard having hole of egg shape
• The egg for testing hold against light if egg found
transparent then it is infertile
• This test is performed after 14 days of set

8. Precaution for hatching
• The hen should be set at night in a well ventilated
and semi dark place separated from the other
fowl
• Seven or eight eggs should be placed under one
hen
• Before setting hen should be examine that they
are free from insets
• Care should be taken of that the hens come out
of the nest daily for food. Fresh water and dry
dust bath should also be given daily
• Hen should be left alone at the time of hatching

9. Rearing of chicken
• After 36 hours of hatching chickens should be taken out with
mother, place in clean box
• After every interval of 2 hr. the food must be given to the chicken in
very small quantity
• The best food for chicken up to age of 3 days is stale bread cumbs
moistened with the milk and oat meal and broken wheat
• Upto the age of 45 day chicken must be fed six time daily
• After 45 days to six month age they must be fed 4 times daily
• A very small quantity of poultry powder given in the soft food
• A little finally chopped onion and garlic should be given twice a
week
• After the age of 45 days half cooked meat and row onion given to
the chicken
• Earthworms and white ants is very nutritive

10. Processing and Preservation of eggs
• Freshly laid eggs are supposed to be the best because at that time
their nutritive value remain intact
• The most common method for determining the quality is by
candling
• Sometimes faint cracks called blind cheeks occur due to careless
handling through which inner content may lick. These egg is inferior
quality
• A good quality egg cell not more than 1/8”
• Bad egg also contain blood clot on surface of yolk
• Good quality egg always contain yolk in the center of egg
• Slightly dirty egg can be wiped by soft wet cloth
• Dirty egg wash with sanitizer and detergent 1% sodium hydroxide

11. Preservation of Egg
• Eggs are used for household purpose, for
confectionery and for other industrial
purposes.
• About 95% of the eggs are used for table and
cooking purpose
• In India 20% of egg produce do not reach the
consumer in good condition
• The following measures are found to be useful
in preserving the egg

12. Production of fertile egg
• The fertile eggs deteriorate rapidly than the infertile egg at
a suitable higher range of temperature
Defertilizaton
• for the defertilization eggs are kept in hot water maintain
at a temperature range of 135 F to 145 F
Egg Cooling
• It well known that temperature above 68 F is favorable for
development of embryo
• A temperature below 68 F is suitable for maintaining the
quality and freshness of the egg
Cool Room
• Egg room can be cooled by providing all the outlet with
khus tatij kept constantly moist by sprinkling water on the
floor. Cooling fan also used

13. Freezing egg
• It is one of the best means of conserving the quality of egg
• In this method deterioration is arrested and the frozen egg
can be held in cold storage for an extended period until
needed
Lime sealing of egg
• The lime sealing of egg prevent the evaporation of moisture
• For lime sealing shell egg are dipped for about 18 hr in lime
water
Oil coating of egg
• it is economical and convenient method for common
poultry farmer
• The oil used for the purpose is carnation oil, a white
mineral oil refined from paraffin and coconut oil
• The egg kept in wire basket are dipped for 5 to 10 seconds

14. Diseases of poultry
Disease Caused by Viruses
Ranikhet Disease (Newcastle disease)
• Ranikhet Disease is caused by a family of viruses known as
Paramyxovirus. This virus is a single strand RNA genome
virus and is known to cause lower respiratory tract
diseases. This disease is prevalent in Asia, Africa, some
North and South American countries.
• sneezing. nasal discharge. coughing. greenish, watery
diarrhoea. depression. muscular tremors. drooping wings.
complete paralysis.
• here is no specific treatment for Newcastle disease.
Antibiotics can be given for three to five days to prevent
secondary bacterial infections (antibiotics do not affect
viruses). Increasing the brooding temperature for chicks by
5°F may help reduce losses.

15. Fowl pox
• Fowl pox is transmitted to flocks primarily through biting
mosquitoes (Culex and Aedes species), or new birds
introduced to your flock may be latent carriers of the
disease. A mosquito that has fed on an infected bird is able
to keep the virus in her salivary glands for up to 8 weeks.
• The dry form is manifest as pimples or scabs on the
skin (mainly on unfeathered parts of the body). The
diphtheritic form shows cankers or yellow lesions in the
mouth, oesophagus or trachea. Other symptoms include
blindness, feed refusal, lowered egg production, facial
swelling.
• There is no treatment for fowl pox. Control and prevention
in chickens is accomplished by vaccination by the wing web
method with a commercially available fowl pox or pigeon
pox vaccine. This should be administered to all chickens at
12-16 weeks of age.

16. Avian Leucosis
• Lymphoid leukosis is a neoplastic disease of
poultry caused by avian leukosis virus. The
disease is characterized by B-cell lymphoma,
occurring in chickens approximately 16 weeks of
age and older.
• Depression. Emaciation. Loss of weight.
Persistent low mortality. Enlargement of
abdomen, liver or bursa. Many are asymptomatic.
• There is no treatment or vaccine available, so
eradication of the virus from breeding flocks is
the most effective control method.