9. Records, Economy and Marketing Updated.pdf

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Soy Excellence Center
SEC Américas Poultry Track Basic Level

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Statement on Intellectual Property
The materials in this lecture fall under the protection of all intellectual property,
copyright and trademark laws of the U.S. The digital materials included here come
with the legal permissions of the copyright holders. These course materials should
be used for educational purposes only; the videos should not be distributed
electronically or otherwise beyond the confines of this online course. Any usage of
the videos or course materials outside of USSEC’s SEC Digital Platform, should be
previously authorized by USSEC, Kansas State University, and the lecture’s authors.
2

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Record Keeping, Economics and
Marketing
Part 1

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Introduction
• Keeping accurate records is essential for a successful poultry
business
• Good record keeping is vital to meet financial commitments and used to take
decisions
• The record keeping system should be accurate, reliable, and easy to follow
• Records are also important to comply with local regulations
– Crude protein in commercial diets

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Importance of Record Keeping
• Record management is not just keeping numbers on issues like mortality and
sale, but on your observations of birds behavior
• If you have egg layers:
– Production records can help to identify and only keep productive birds
– Record the number of eggs laid in the floor and take decision regarding nesting space
requirements
• If you are producing broilers:
– Production records can help you to identify:
• Incubation problems
• Management problems
• Nutritional problems

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Feed Mill Records
• Ingredients received and usage
• Finished feed produced and shipped
• Mycotoxin levels
• Protein content
• Moisture
• Other nutrients
• Feed mill inspections
• Employee training
Inventory Management
Process control
Quality control can be used to identify the
best ingredient suppliers
If you did not record it, it did not happen!!

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Hatchery
• Maintain records of:
– Breed
• Where the eggs are coming from?
– Collection date
– Storage temperature (55 to 65°F or 13 to 18°C)
• Store eggs in designated areas
– Stop the embryo development until we want to
start the incubation process
• Don’t refrigerate eggs at 4°C
– Storage time
• Don’t store the eggs for more than 14 days
– After 2 weeks = loss in hatchability
– Allow eggs to come to run temperature before
setting them in the incubator

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Hatchery Records
8
Maintain records of
these temperatures
https://www.cobb-vantress.com/en_US/articles/how-incubation-procedures-can-increase-chick-quality/
Hen body
40-41°C
Hen house
24-29°C
On farm egg room
21-25°C
Egg transportation truck
20-23°C
Hatchery egg room
19-21°C
Pre-heating area
24-27°C
Setter machine
37.5-37.8°C

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Hatchery Records
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% water loss =
Full tray weight at set – Full tray weight at transfer
Full tray weight at set – Empty tray weight
X 100
For examples: Empty tray = 1,000 grams
Full tray at set = 8,000 grams
Full tray at transfer = 7,200 grams
% water loss =
8,000 – 7,200
X 100
8000 – 1,000
% water loss =
800
X 100
7,000
% water loss = 11.41%

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Hatchery Records
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% Chick Yield =
Average Chick Weight
Average Fresh Egg Weight
X 100
For examples: Empty tray = 1,200 grams
Full tray at set = 8,200 grams; Number of Eggs = 125
Full chick box at hatch = 4200 grams; Number of Chicks = 120
% Chick Yield =
4200 ÷ 120
(8,200 – 1200) ÷ 125
X 100
% Chick Yield =
35
56
X 100 % Chick Yield =62.5%

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Hatchery Records
Low Chick Yield High Chick Yield
Incubating the eggs too long Incubation time too short*
High incubation temperature Low incubation temperature
Low incubator humidity High incubator humidity
This may be as a consequence of long egg storage, or eggs
from very young or old breeder
Indian River, an avian brand, measure chick yield

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Hatchery – Chicks Quality
• Chick weight (42 g)
• Chick length
• Active and alert
– Strong and standing on his legs (3 second reflex)
• Eyes open and bright
• Clean and dry
• Navel tightly closed and invisible
• Not dehydrated
• Free of wounds and deformations
• Free from physical disorders
12
Escobar, 2022

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Before chicks arrival
• What is the temperature at ground level?
• What is the humidity of the litter in case it is reused litter?
• What is the level of ammonia and CO2?
• Is there enough staff to receive the chicks?
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Biosecurity Records - Visitors Information
Name Company Reason for the visit Have you been in contact with poultry in the last 72 hours?
Time
Signature
In Out
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Chick delivery
• Upon delivery check and record
the number of chicks delivered
against the number ordered,
determine the mortality count
(dead on arrival) and record
• Record physical defects
(twisted legs, cross beaks)

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Chick delivery
• Initial body weight:
– To determine the initial weight, take a plastic bucket with bedding material in the bottom and
write down the weight of the bucket and the bedding material
• Put 10 chicks in the bucket and weigh:
– The difference between the total weight minus the weight of the empty bucket divided by the
number of chicks will result in the average weight of the chicks
– To obtain a more representative weight, repeat this operation in different parts of the house
Weight?
VS. Group weight/10
Average chicks weight
=

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Crop fill
• A good practice is to check the crop fill of the chicks no longer than
12 hours after delivery
• The crop should be full and soft
– If it is empty the chick is not eating
– If it is hard, the chick is eating but may not have enough water to push feed through its digestive system
• At least 8 out of the 10 should have feed in the crops after 12 hours, and after 48 hours all
chicks should have feed in their crop
Hours after
placement
Crop Fill
(% of chick)
2 hours 75
12 hours >85
24 hours >95
48 hours 100

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Properly locating thermometers in poultry house
• Thermometers are important tools for promoting poultry
performance
– Placing thermometers in the correct place to monitor and adjust temperature is key to bird
comfort and to optimize productivity
• Thermometers should be placed correctly to measure the temperature birds are
experiencing
• The thermometers must be located far enough from heat sources
• Do NOT place thermometers on the walls, near doors, windows, direct sunlight or
other areas not representative of the true temperature the birds are experiencing
• Do NOT place thermometers too high
• Do NOT place thermometers too low

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Production Records
• Mortality
– Mortality reasons (if known),
– A spike in mortality will alert to a potential health or
management problem.
– High mortality at delivery may be a sign of stress during
transportation or problems with chick quality.
• Mortality at 3 days can be an indication of poor chick
quality or problems with rearing
• Remember, that the first 14 days is the period of highest
vulnerability
• Vaccine administration
• Average bird weight
– In addition to daily records, weekly records of average
weight gain should be kept

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Broiler Production - Records
• Maintain records of the environmental conditions inside
the house during production:
– Temperature
– Relative humidity
– Water consumption - often the first sign of a serious problem
in the flock
– Mortality
• Early mortality (1 to 3 days) - could be related to chick quality
• Late mortality (>28 days) – could be related to heat stress
– Culls
• Record the possible cause
– Leg problems – nutritional problems, Ca, P, choline, etc.
– Blind – ammonia problems
– Do necropsy if possible to identity other causes

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Broilers – Other Records
• Crumble quality and percentage of fines in the feeder
22
< 1mm <10%
1-2 mm
~75%
2-3 mm
>3 mm <15%
• Collect multiple samples
Winowiski, 2017

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Points to Remember
• The generation of records is important to make good decisions and
increase the productivity of the company
• Visitor logs can help identify and control a disease outbreak
• The equipment to generate records (e.g. thermometers) must be calibrated and
located in the area that most closely resembles the conditions that the birds are
experiencing
23

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This concludes Part 1 of
Record Keeping, Economics and Marketing.
Please continue to Part 2.
24
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Acknowlegement
The development of this lecture was made possible through the funding
from:
• U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)
The development of this lecture was made possible through support from:
• Wilmer Pacheco, MSc., PhD. Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, Auburn
University
• International Grains Program (IGP) Institute of Kansas State University

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Disclaimer
This is a lecture intended for educational use and professional development. It is not
intended nor does it necessarily represent enforceable standards, industry consensus,
mandatory requirements, nor all possible solutions or ideas to resolve your safety and
health needs. This course has been developed to share information on potential topics
associated with animal nutrition and production. In most cases, there are many
solutions or combinations of solutions to problems. Use only those sections that apply
to your operation; but first evaluate each section and suggestion based on its economic
and operational feasibility and application.
Mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations does not imply or
express endorsement by Kansas State University or USSEC, its members, employees,
or cooperating companies and individuals.

Supported
by:
Statement on Intellectual Property
The materials in this lecture fall under the protection of all intellectual property,
copyright and trademark laws of the U.S. The digital materials included here come
with the legal permissions of the copyright holders. These course materials should
be used for educational purposes only; the videos should not be distributed
electronically or otherwise beyond the confines of this online course. Any usage of
the videos or course materials outside of USSEC’s SEC Digital Platform, should be
previously authorized by USSEC, Kansas State University, and the lecture’s authors.
28

Supported
by:
Record Keeping, Economics and
Marketing
Part 2

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Broiler Production - Cost
• Maintain records of:
– Initial Costs:
• House construction costs
• Equipment
• Others
– Operational Costs:
• Litter
• Water
• Feed
• Medications
• Personal protective equipment
• Employee salary

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Broiler Production - Revenue
• Broilers sales
– If some birds were consumed by the
family, also consider this as a savings
• Litter sale
– Used as fertilizer

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Egg Production
• Records should be kept at all times from brooding to the end of each
production cycle
• Keep records of the non-egg producing periods
– Weight of the pullets prior to egg production
• Daily recording of activities is highly recommended
• Hours spent
– Number of hours spent in farm activities (feeding, cleaning, egg collection)
• Bird weights
– Random selection of a few birds to determine an average weight
• Vaccinations and medications
– Record type and amount

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Egg Production
• Record expenses in a monthly
basis:
– Daily feed consumption
– Water usage - Give estimated gallons
if a meter is not available
• Record income from sales or
savings from consuming eggs at
home
• Number of eggs collected daily,
weekly or monthly

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Egg Production Cost
Materials Cost
Chicks
Battery brooder
Laying house
Drinkers
Feeders
Beak trimmer
Feed
Utilities
Equipment Depreciation
Other costs

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Income
Source Amount Income
Eggs
Sale of culled birds
Manure sale as fertilizer
Based on cost and income you can calculate the total revenue of having a small, medium, or large
commercial layer operation

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Recordkeeping Tools
• Equipment for measuring the shell and yolk color and shell and
albumen quality can be used to monitor egg shell quality
– Compare your records with the standard targets
• Scales, thermometers, etc. should be calibrated to provide accurate records

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Economics
• Should I produce broilers or layers?
– Broilers are birds reared purposely for meat production. Genetic improvements allow
them to grow faster, and reach market weight in a shorter period of time
– Layers, on the other hand, are poultry birds reared solely for egg production. Genetic
improvements allow them to lay more eggs
VS.

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Variables to Consider
• Money available
– Start up cost is cheaper for broilers
• Tight budget – broiler
• More capital available – layers
• Time available
– Layers require more time –
vaccination, debeaking, feeding,
collecting eggs
VS.

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Disease Outbreaks Risks
• Once broilers reach the market weight, they are ready to sell
– In an event of a disease outbreak, you will lose some chickens, but you will be back in
business in the next 2 months with a new set of chickens
– In an event of a disease outbreak with layers, you will need to wait for a longer time to
fully recover from such loss

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Economics
• The profitability of the business and your initial production decision
should depend on your skills, marketing strategies and the initial capital available to
start your business
– Broilers - shorter pay back period compared to layers
– Layers – better return on investment
• Broilers need clean water, few vaccines, space, light, and food, within 6 weeks they
will be ready to sell and you can start rearing another set
• Layers require all that broilers need plus multiples vaccines and debeaking
– More managements activities
– You need to feed the layers for 4 month before they start laying eggs
• Battery cage systems also increase the initial cost

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Marketing
• Identify your potential buyers
– How much they could buy?
– What can prevent you from selling your chicks or egg and what you could do to
leverage the market?
• Broilers can be more difficult to market:
– If you don’t sell broilers once they reach their market weight, you might incur in losses
particularly if you are selling the birds at the same price regardless of their weight
– Birds can also have legs problems and might be more susceptible to heat stress

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Marketing
• Broilers – Know the market!
– In 6 weeks they will be ready to be sold
– If you don’t have a market – you will incur in losses
• Broilers will keep consuming feed
– Make sure you have your market even before you place the baby chicks
• Options
– Processing - you need refrigeration systems
– Restaurants – roastery chickens are very popular as they can feed a whole family
• Layers
– Eggs can be keep the eggs until you find the market willing paying for the right price
– Depending on location – the price of eggs is fixed regardless of the egg size

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Marketing
• Layers for egg production can be easier to market because the eggs
produced can be stored conveniently without getting spoil
• You can decide to sell the eggs whenever you are willing to and without being
worried about it
• Although, layers will be fed every day, yet they will be laying eggs that can be
distributed to customers daily

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Egg Marketing
• Eggs can be sold either directly or through a broker
Producer Customer
Producer Customer
Direct Sales
Partner or
Broker

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Conclusions
• Records are important to take business decision and to have a
better control of a poultry operation
• Before producing meat or eggs you need to consider the local and national
market, initial capital investment, time commitment, and initial return on
investment

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¿Questions?
Wilmer Javier Pacheco, MSc., PhD.
Extension Specialist and Associate Professor
Auburn University
wjp0010@auburn.edu

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This concludes the Record Keeping,
Economics and Marketing lecture. You
can now take the Record Keeping,
Economics and Marketing quiz or
continue to the next lecture.
49
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9. Records, Economy and Marketing Updated.pdf

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