Broiler management for B.V.Sc students

1. BROILER
PRODUCTION
S.T.Selvan
Professor and Head,
Department of Poultry Science,
MVC, Chennai – 7
drstselvan@gmail.com
+91 9444227466, +919940178909

2. CONTENTS OF LECTURE
◦ INTRODUCTION
◦ ADVANTAGES OF BROILER
REARING
◦ LOCATION, LAYOUT AND HOUSE
DESIGN
◦ SYSTEM OF REARING
◦ HOUSE CONSTRUCTION AND
EQUIPMENTS
◦ PRE – ARRIVAL ARRANGEMENT
◦ POST – ARRIVAL ARRANGEMENT
◦ BROILER MANAGEMENT
◦ NUTRITION AND FEEDING OF
BROILERS
◦ WATER REQUIREMENTS
◦ VACCINATION
◦ BROILER PERFORMANCE
INDICES
◦ BROILER FARM RECORDS
◦ CONCLUSION

3. What is a broiler ??
Broiler is any chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
that is bred and raised specifically
for meat production. Most commercial broilers
reach slaughter weight between four and seven
weeks of age, although slower growing breeds
reach slaughter weight at approximately 14 weeks
of age. Typical broilers have white feathers and
yellowish skin (Wikipedia)
A young chicken suitable for roasting or grilling
(Cambridge dictionary)
A young tender chicken suitable for roasting
(Collins dictionary)

4. Broiler
Chicken grown for meat
purpose are called broiler
chicken and it is also defined
as meat type young immature
fast growing chicken of either
sex, having soft, pliable skin
and tender meat with flexible
breast bone cartilage.
Lohmann
Arbor acres Caribro
Indian river

5. ADVANTAGES OF BROILER REARING
◦Low initial investment
◦Rearing period is the least
◦Large number of birds
◦High demand for chicken meat
◦Highest FCR among food animal
◦Quick return for the investment

6. Reasons for improved broiler poultry
production
◦ Modernization of production
practices.
◦ Import of pure lines/grandparent
stock.
◦ Least-cost feed formulation.
◦ Vaccines against major diseases.
◦ Improved quality breeder
management.
◦ Developments in poultry processing.
◦ Private sector partnerships through
CBF.

7. BROILER FARM LOCATION - I
◦Within 50 km radius from the marketing place
◦At least one kilometer away from the nearest poultry farm.
◦Location away from desi bird farms
◦Preferably a virgin soil
◦Easy access to high way, with a motorable road round the year
◦Three-phase electricity supply.
◦Land should be even, elevated free from wind blocks, rocks,
hills and rectangular to the extent possible.

8. ◦Land must have more length from east to west.
◦Adequate quantity of water is must in that site.
◦Quality of the water and its suitability should be checked.
◦Area should not be low lying, flood-prone and water logging.
◦Good and quick drainage of rain and storm water is preferred
◦Future farm expansion program should also be planned
◦After selection, permission from the local authorities should be
obtained
◦Fencing the entire farm area is recommended
BROILER FARM LOCATION - II

9. LAYOUT AND DESIGN
◦ Layout and design of the broiler house depends on the system of
rearing
◦ Width of each house should be between 24 to 28 ft only
◦ Length of the house is not a restriction
◦ Distance between two house should not be less than 30 feet
◦ Depending upon the multiple batch system, the house can be
partitioned as 4 + 1 or 8 + 2. (with 2 weeks downtime)
◦ Other rooms required are store room, feed room, office room, worker’s
room, burial pit, P.M. room, manure pit, watchman room, etc

10. SYSTEMS OF REARING
◦ Deep Litter system ( 1 sq.ft
/ bird)
◦ Cage system (250 – 300 sq.
cm 0 - 3 weeks) and 400 –
500 sq.cm 4 to 7 wks)
◦ Slatted floor system
◦ Wire floor system
◦ All – in All – out system
◦ Multiple batch or multiple
brood system

11. BROILER HOUSE CONSTRUCTION - I
◦ Need for house
◦ Optimum temperature 22 - 30oC (70 - 85oF)
with R.H of 30 - 60 %
◦ Ammonia level less than 25 ppm
◦ Moisture should be less than 15 %
◦ Air flow 10 to 30 meters / second
◦ Long axis house should be EAST – WEST
◦ Open sided house for tropical countries
◦ Each house width should not be more than 24
ft for optimum performance

12. OPEN SIDED HOUSE
◦ Suitable for tropical countries
◦ Low investment house
◦ Width cannot be more than 24 ft
◦ Need to make provision during
extreme weather conditions
◦ Breakeven can be achieved earlier
◦ Low electric bill
◦ Less uniformity in birds weight
E C HOUSE
◦ Suitable for all weather conditions
◦ High investment housing
◦ Width can be maximum of 38 ft
◦ No need to worry about external
weather
◦ Breakeven can be achieved little later
◦ High electric bill
◦ High uniformity in birds weight
BROILER HOUSE CONSTRUCTION - II

13. ◦ CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
◦ Width
◦ Length
◦ Overhang
◦ Foundation
◦ Rat proof side platform
◦ Floor
◦ Walls and partition
◦ Side walls
◦ Ventilators
◦ Roof door
◦ Lighting
◦ Footbath
BROILER HOUSE CONSTRUCTION – III

14. BROILER FARM EQUIPMENTS
◦ Brooding equipment
◦ Heating equipment
◦ Chick guard
◦ Feeder
◦ Waterer
◦ Sprayer
◦ Flame gun
◦ Weighing scales
◦ Crates
◦ Other equipment – broom, shovel, brush,
vacuum cleaner, spade, mug, incinerator, etc

15. PRE – ARRIVAL ARRANGEMENTS

16. POST – ARRIVAL ARRANGEMENTS
HOVER
CHICK
GUARD

17. BROODING OF CHICKS
◦ Objective of brooding
◦ To provide maximum chick comfort
◦ To reduce stress
◦ To regulate metabolic process
◦ To increase thermoregulation capacity
◦ To promote feed and water intake
◦ Temperature
◦ Relative Humidity
◦ Floor space requirments
◦ Feeding equipment
◦ Water equipment
◦ Chick guard

18. TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY
CHICK
BEHAVIOUR
HUMIDITY SHOULD BE MAINTAINED
AT 60 TO 70% THROUGHOUT THE
PERIOD

19. SPACE REQUIREMENTS
Age of the bird Floor space /
bird
Feeder space /
bird
Water space /
bird
0 to 18 days old 0.5 sq.ft 3 cm 1.5 cm
19 to 42 days 1 to 1.1 sq.ft 6 – 7 cm 3 cm

20. BROILER MANAGEMENT -I
Age in days Managemental practices
0 – 7 days • Arrange the circular brooder for the chicks to be placed
• The diameter of the brooder should not be more that 1.25 sq.ft
• Feeder and waterer should be placed in circular fashion
• Feed should be sprinkled on paper or plates
• 23 ½ hrs of light should be provided
• Individual chicks should be observed for their comfort
• Generator back up should provided
• Three to four times of feed should be provided
• Water should be provided 24 hrs
• 24 hrs light is required
8 – 10 days • Remove the round brooding and extend the space
• Make the partition for every 500 chicks
• Spraying of disinfectant on 8th day
• Water pipeline to be cleaned
• 24 hrs light is required

21. Age in days Managemental practices
11 – 14 days • Remove the chick drinkers and plates
• Place the feeders and waterers in normal position
• Spraying of disinfectant on 14th day
• Water pipeline to be cleaned
• Extend the area if needed
• 23 hours of light and 1 hour of darkness from 2wk onwards
15 - 21 days • Extend the are to provide 0.6 sq ft per bird
• Hang the feeder to birds crop level
• Change the water to bigger size
• Clean the pipeline again to remove any blockages
22 – 28 days • Provide full space to the birds
• Adjust the feeder and waterer height of the bird crop level
• Clean the pipelines
• Spray the disinfectants
BROILER MANAGEMENT - II

22. Age in days Managemental practices
29 – 42 days • Birds should be observed for any discomfort
• Clean the water pipelines
• Spraying the disinfectants
• Litter raking to prevent caking
• Control of ammonia level
• Prevention of water spillage in litter
• Selling of birds based on the weight of the birds
BROILER MANAGEMENT - III

23. MINIMUM GROWTH PERFORMANCE
IN BROILERS
Age in
weeks
Average
body
weight (g)
Feed intake
1000 birds
per day (kg)
Cumulative
feed intake
per bird (g)
Feed
efficiency
Water intake
1000 birds
per day (lts)
1 125 16 100 0.80 40
2 250 27 240 0.96 60
3 660 50 800 1.21 120
4 970 75 1270 1.31 180
5 1250 95 1720 1.38 230
6 1700 120 2550 1.50 280
7 2000 138 3500 1.75 320

24. NUTRITION AND FEEDIG
◦ Feed constitutes 60 to 70 % of total expenditure
◦ Feed is essential for growth, maintenance and reproduction
◦ Birds require more than 40 nutrients (classified into six groups based on their chemical nature - water, proteins, Carbohydrates,
fats, minerals and vitamins)
◦ Various organizations, like as, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Agricultural Research Council (ARC), National Research Council
(NRC) are recommended the broiler feed nutrient standards.
◦ Feed may be mash or crumble. However, mash feeding is more common
◦ Pelleting and crumble will give better feed efficiency
◦ Mash feed should not be finely ground, it should be coarse
◦ There are three or four types of feed given to the broilers (Pre starter, Starter and Finisher / Pre starter, Starter, Grower and
Finisher

25. BROILER FEED FORMULATION
Ingredient Broiler pre starter
(0 – 10 days)
Broiler starter
(11 – 27 days)
Broiler finisher
28 – 42 days)
Maize 50.0 50.0 60.0
Soya bean meal 40.0 39.0 31.0
Rice polish 6.0 7.0 4.0
Animal fat - - 1.0
Calcite 1.5 1.5 1.3
DCP 2.0 2.0 2.0
Salt 0.2 0.2 0.2
Methionine 0.15 0.15 -
Choline chloride 0.1 0.1 0.1
Coccidiostat 0.05 0.05 0.05
Trace mineral mixture and
vitamins
0.2 0.2 0.2
Growth promotor 0.1 0.1 0.1
Total 100 100 100

26. WATER REQUIRMENT
Qualities of water:
1. Water should be pumped from either hardness free bore well or open
well.
2. Water should be clean and wholesome potable
3. Water should be free from foreign body such as faecal material.
4. Water should be free from smell and colour
5. Water should contain acceptable microbial load.
6. water should be free from pollutants from industries / effluent plant.

27. DESIRABLE WATER QUALITY
Sl.No. Water quality Maximum permissible level Desirable level
1. Total hardness 350 60-180
2. Ph 6.0-8.0 6.8-7.5
3. Nitrate 25 mg/litre 10 mg/litre
4. Nitrite 4 mg/litre 0.4 mg/litre
5. Total bacterial count 100/ml 0/ml
6. Coliform count 50/ml 0/ml
7. Calcium chloride 250 mg/litre 60 mg/litre
8. Sodium 500 mg/litre 50 mg/litre
9. Sulphate 250 mg/litre 125 mg/litre

28. WATER SANITISERS
◦ Water sanitization is important to get optimum growth rate.
◦ The sanitizers commonly used are Chlorine, Chlorine dioxide, Iodophors, Quaternary ammonium compounds,
Carboxylic acid sanitizers, Peroxy acid compounds, Phenolic materials.
◦ Other methods are sedimentation, filteration, ozonization, ultraviolet treatment.
◦ Chlorination is the best and cheapest method to get rid of micro-organisms.
◦ Five to eight grams of bleaching powder with about 35 percent available chlorine should be added to 1000 litres
of drinking water to maintain a chlorine level of 1 to 2 ppm at delivery.
◦ To prepare the premix solution, required quantities of bleaching powder is added in one litre of water and then
this prepared water mix is added into the water in the tank. Then give a minimum of 10 – 12 hours or over night
contact time to release chlorine and perfect sanitation. This process will maintain the chlorination level at 1-2
ppm.
◦ Chlorotex or chloroscope is the device used to check the chlorination level.

29. VACCINATION
CARE DURING VACCINATION
◦ Don’t do the vaccination for unhealthy birds.
◦ Vaccination should be done either in the morning or evening
or cooler parts of the day.
◦ Add anti- stress drugs in water or feed, before and after the
vaccination.
◦ Avoid excess handling of birds.
◦ Maintain the cold-chain to protect the efficacy of vaccine.
◦ Ensure syringe and needle sterilization.
◦ Dispose the empty vaccine vial safely.
◦ Use prepared vaccine within one hour.
Age in days Disease Vaccine Method
5-7 days Ranikhet
disease /
ND
RDVF1 Intra nasal and
Occular
13-15 days IBD or
Gumboro
disease
IBD vaccine Occular or
water
21-25 days Ranikhet
disease
Lasota water

30. BROILER PERFORMANCE INDICES
◦ Feed conversion ratio/feed
conversion efficiency/ feed
efficiency
◦ Construction coefficient (CC)
◦ Gross margin per unit floor area
◦ Broiler performance efficiency
factor (BPEF)
◦ Broiler performance efficiency
index (BPEI)
◦ Broiler performance efficiency
points (BPEP)
◦ Benefit cost ratio (BCR)

31. RECORD MAINTANANCE
◦ Feed consumption Record
◦ Mortality record (numbers and % age).
◦ Management record
◦ Water record (source, testing, microbial
load, water consumption and treatments)
◦ Temperature and humidity record
◦ Feed delivery record (feed supplier, type of
feed, quantity, processing date, etc)
◦ Feed sample record
◦ Body weight gain record (batch wise weekly
body weight gain)
◦ Medication record
◦ Vaccination record
◦ Lighting record
◦ Litter material record
◦ Chick delivery record
◦ Sales record (body weight of birds,
supervisor’s name, vehicle number, driver
name, mobile numbers, date and time of birds
catching started and finished etc)
◦ Feed withdrawn details record
◦ Cleanness record (microbial load)
◦ Postmortem record
◦ Maintenance record
◦ Generator record