The broiler chicken is a special species of
poultry as it is scientifically made to produce more meat in a very short
period of time like 6-9 weeks when their weight reaches around 6 pounds. One of
the most dominant broiler chickens being reared for meat in Sri Lanka is the Cornish. Broiler meat production is fast a growing business in
Sri Lanka. Demand for broiler meat is increasing nowadays.
Things
to know when starting broiler chicken farming,
1. Systems in general use
Commercial broilers in Sri Lanka are reared on deep litter floors. Two popular main
systems of rearing broilers are,
·
The
multiple-batch system
·
The
all-in-all-out system
Multiple-batch
system
Day-old broiler
chicks are purchased in batches at weekly or bi-weekly intervals and
reared. In this system presence of different age
groups of broilers on the same premises makes it difficult to control the
spread of diseases.
All-in-all-out
system
Day-old hybrid broiler chicks are received in
one batch, grown to appropriate market age and weight on the farmer’s premises
and sold in one batch to the market. At any time only one particular batch is available on the farm premises, making it
easier to control the spread of disease as procedures to disinfect the premises
can be applied promptly.
 |
| A baby chick : Image by Philipp Kleindienst from Pixabay |
2.
Planning
The farmer who
intends to start a broiler farm has to assess the marketing potential existing
in the area and the average market price in order to make sure that the
broilers then plans to produce are in demand and will command a good price.
Then also decide the size of the farm. It
depends on the capital has available for
the business and the economically viable size of the unit. The availability of various inputs, such as
quality chicks, feed, medicines, vaccines, litter material, labor, etc., has to
be assessed.
3.
Set Farm Location
Setting broiler farm
at the most appropriate location. It is important the location has all the necessary facilities.
Try to build a broiler farm a little away from the town so that can have the land and labor at a cheaper cost.
Setting up the
farm too far away from the nearest town will be a mistake. Need to approach a
town more often to target consumers.However,
a location too away from the city may cost more
on transportation.
The land should
be elevated, to prevent water stagnation
and flooding. The farm should be located
in an area with facilities for comfortable rearing of broilers, with the least
difficulty in arranging inputs and outputs and need a good power supply. And also
water is important for the broilers, a sufficient quantity of clean, potable
water should be available in the area.
4. Preparation of the house for broiler chicken farming
One of the important factors of broiler keeping is their house. Broilers need houses to
protect them from extremes of climate, predatory animals like wild cats and
dogs, etc. Follow mention all the regulations and processes recommended by
experts in building a house for broiler production.
- The regular distance from one house to another should be around 12 meters.
- Install new or maintain the available equipment in the house with heaters, feeders, drinkers, and fans, etc.
- House should be thoroughly cleaned before the chicks are brought in. wash the ceiling, sidewalks, walls, and equipment. After cleaning, disinfect the building and ensure the ventilation is working correctly.
- Insects should be run off with a blowlamp
- The heating system should be checked and monitored to ensure it is working rightly.
- Moderate temperatures should be maintained in the farmhouse.
Avoid challenges
by performing good sanitation on the farm, rodent, and fly control during the
rearing period.
Orientation - The
broiler houses should be situated with their long axis in an east-west
direction to avoid direct sunlight falling into the building.
Elevation- The floor level of broiler houses should be
raised 30 cm above the outer ground
level to prevent seepage of water into the house. The floor should be made of
cement, to prevent damage by rodents and to permit easy and efficient cleaning
and disinfecting.
Width - The
width of open-sided broiler houses should not be wider than 7.20 m and less
than 4.80 m, to permit optimal cross ventilation.
Walls - Longwalls on the sides should not be more
than 35 cm high above the floor level, with the rest of the area covered with a
mesh.
Roof - The roof
may be thatched like straw, coconut leaves and Palmyra leaves covered with
light roof like asbestos or aluminium
sheets. The height of the roof should preferably be 2.40-3.00 m.
Floor space
allowance - The floor space requirement per broiler depends on their body
weight, housing system and climatic conditions.
5.
Equipment for broiler production
The right equipment in the house will ensure that have a smooth operation and easy management of broilers. Their chicken farm equipment
is a very efficient and effective thing.
Below are some
of the broiler farm equipment such as,
- To have a heat source, to need
an electric and gas brooder. It is recommended to use a 250-watt heat
lamp for 50 chicks.
- Use small chicken feeders for younger chicks and larger ones as they grow older.
- Use small glass jar waterers when chicks are small and adjust to a larger one as they grow old.
- Litter and bedding for the chicks,
in this case, can be dry and clean sawdust, wood shaving, straw, and shredded paper.
6.
Environmental conditions for broiler production
The temperature
condition around the broilers is important for broiler farming and should be
treated with high discipline. Two days
before bringing the chicks to the farm, should check the temperature of the
broiler house. For the first week, the temperature should read around 35°C and
it will reduce slowly at a rate of 28°C per week.
Litter
management - Broilers are usually reared on deep litter. The materials used as
litter are paddy husks, groundnut hulls, sawdust, wood shavings, coir pith,
chopped straw, bagasse, and even sand. The choice of litter material depends on the cost and local availability of the material. A litter height of 5 cm is
sufficient. Litter should be kept dry.
Lighting - To
provide warmth for brooding, artificial lighting has to be given up to three
weeks. It is recommended to provide a total photoperiod of 16 hours per day.
Optimal
environmental conditions for rearing broilers,
·
Temperature:
22-300C
·
Relative
Humidity: 30-60 %
·
Ammonia:
Less than 25 ppm
·
Litter
moisture: 15-25 %
7.
Feed and water for broiler keeping
The most important factor in broiler rearing is
chicken feed. Provide proper and quality
feeds to broilers, will obtain great
results. Broilers consume the feed and convert it into meat. For the farmer to
be successful, they should give their broilers the right feed. Broiler requires a high ratio of proteins in their
feed for them to grow well. Vitamins are also needed like, A, B2,
and B12 among others. To keep the broilers from diseases, they
should be disinfected.
 |
| Feeding of Broiler Chicken ; Image credits: Muditha Gayan |
Broiler consumes on the feed and water all-day
and night thus, ensure that these two are available 24/7 in the chicken house.
Ensure that the water and feed are present in their cages. Good broiler chicken
cage-like, hightop broiler cage is ideal and easier to feed broilers.
Ensure have one of them for efficient
operation. During low temperature the
farmer should provide warm water to the broilers. When feeding chickens, there are few things to know,
- Give the feed different times in a
day
- Give clean and fresh water every
time
- The water and feed provided should
be equivalent to the chicks available
- During high-temperature condition, the broilers take more water
- In the first weeks, give the chicks
a lot of feed before their restricted feeding begins.
- The feeding time after restriction
should be consistent day in day out.
 |
| Watering Broiler Chicken |
Feeder space
allowances per broiler at different ages are,
·
0-2
weeks - 3 cm
·
3-4
weeks - 5 cm
·
4
weeks - 8 cm
Feeding guide
for broilers,
·
Day
1 -21: broiler starter ( each chick will eat 1kg in 21 days)
·
Day
21- 35: broiler finisher
8.
Vaccinations for broiler rearing
Broilers require optimal conditions for them
to be safe and secure from any diseases. But in most times, this is difficult
to attain. Vaccinating the broilers is a correct way of preventing them from
the common diseases that might affect them. The vaccination process should be done correctly
to ensure that birds receive the vaccine
and are protected.
Water vaccination
is the best method because every bird to drinks the vaccinated water. Vaccination
schedule for broilers,
|
Age |
Vaccine |
Remarks |
|
0
– day at hatch |
Mareks
disease vaccine |
Make
sure the same has been given at hatchery itself |
|
5th
day |
NCD
vaccine |
Drop
in to nostrils or eyes or in water |
|
14-16th day |
Gamboro
|
Optional
consult the local veterinarian |
|
28th day |
NCD
vaccine |
In
drinking water |
 |
The market of broiler products
When starting a broiler farm one of the significant things is the aspect of marketing. Without having a marketing plan, it is hard to achieve business goals. The right house, chicken feeds, equipment, and management of the broiler chicken farm, can be assured to make great profits out of this Business. Bodyweight at market age is the average live weight of a broiler when sold to market.
Broiler chicken
farming and broiler production can be a challenge in Sri Lanka, but with the r
ight process, equipment and management, be ready to make huge returns in a short period of time.
Lasadi Lokunarangoda,
BSc.(Hons) in Agriculture
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3 Comments
good article 👍👍👍
ReplyDeleteSuperb
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help
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