Brooding Principles

Growing Chicks the First Week

• Chance Bryant
• North American Technical Manager – West Division
• Antigua, Guatemala November 10th, 2016
 Goals of Talk

1. Brooding Prep – It starts the last visit on the

previous flock
2. Why is proper brooding so important
3. Proper brooding temperature/air quality
4. Water Temperature – are we thinking about it
5. Measuring our results – where are we at 7 days
Just like parents with multiple
kids – growers get relaxed and
quit worrying about details
We are trying to take place of Mother Hen

4
Making our house to be the
Mother Hen
1. Brooding Prep – It starts the last visit on the
previous flock
Is it vacation time when the birds
go out????
 Fail to Plan – Plan to Fail
Before the flock leaves, address areas of concern.
Agree/sign off on a plan; do with every producer.
Target areas:
– Drinkers, feeders, fans, curtains, etc
2. Why is proper brooding so important
 Proper brooding is crucial for proper
development and overall flock performance
Multiple performance reasons we can measure
to monitor our Brooding success
Accelerate Growth – The First week of life
This is the most efficient period in the life of the bird-feed
to weight gain (100% increase in weight in 1st 72 hours)
Reduce Mortality
Skeletal & Cardiovascular Development
Stimulate Early Feed Intake
Flock uniformity
Ensure Temperature Regulation Development – 1st 5
days
Without optimum performance during this period flock
performance will be compromised and cannot be fixed
later
% between 1st week (brooding) & grow-out

Year 1st wk as % of grow-out 3.5lb

1.6kg
1990 16.7%
2000 18.7%
2010 21.2%
2020 24.6%
Year 1st wk as % of grow-out 6.0 lb
2.7kg
1990 11.9%
2000 13.7%
2010 16%
2020 18.5%
1st two weeks critical in internal development

Much change in “meat” development on

carcass; not much in internal organs
Organs have to work much harder to maintain
more meat/weight
 Stress in the first 5 days

Baby chicks were split between 5 groups:

A,B,C,D, and E

Group A: stress high temperature

Group B: stress low temperature
Group C: control group
Group D: placement without feed/water first 12
hours
Group E: placement without feed/water first 24
hours
 Stress in the first 5 days
Age Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E
(Days)

1 41.7gr 41.7gr 41.7gr 41.7gr 41.7gr

2 54.2gr 42.2gr 57.6gr 52gr 37.2gr

3 65.6gr 65gr 67.4gr 61.2gr 55.8gr

4 77.9gr 82.4gr 85.6gr 77.9gr 66.5gr

5 101.6gr 99.6gr 129gr 93.2gr 84.3gr

* Body weight
 Stress in the first 5 days
Age Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E
(Days)

1 1.30gr 1.30gr 1.30gr 1.30gr 1.30gr

2 3.48gr 3.61gr 3.75gr 3.12gr 1.09gr

3 5.28gr 5.85gr 5.95gr 4.92gr 3.92gr

4 8.24gr 8.30gr 8.70gr 7.78gr 6.25gr

5 9.92gr 9.81gr 10.60gr 9.34gr 8.68gr

* Intestine weight
 C A B D E
Body size/weight uniformity:
Small chicks will never catch up unless big one
falls behind
 Intestinal length/weight variation:
Intestine is the birds feed conversion machine
Development of intestinal villi in
the first week of life
Consider where we are making our
chicks go to
Must not assume everyone knows what
full feed means or requires
Young chicks can’t utilize big pieces
of pellets
Sometimes it’s not the
feed formulation that’s
bad
Feed form is critical
 What are we actually feeding chicks
Sometimes it’s not the
amount of feed we have
out
It’s the type and what’s in
the feed that is hurting us
Light Intensity
3 FC for good
start
3. Proper brooding temperature/air quality
 36.2 C
30.1 C
29.3 C

Good environment control starts before the

chicks arrive – improper prewarming brood
area
Is the surface of the litter all we
should be concerned about
 Temperature - Floor and Concrete
Cold Chicks

 Floor temperatures are

critical for the first two
weeks as chicks tend to lose
significant heat through their
feet

 Check by placing chicks

feet against cheek/neck
 Result of chicks being on cold floors
Creates poor uniformity in flock
Poor uniformity causes lower average wts at the end of
the flock
Increases cull% and overall mortality
Decreases carcass utilization at the plant
24.4 C
36.6 C
 Temperature - Litter
 Pre-heat for 48 hours at least! regardless the
time of year or climate
 Target temperature should be reached at
least 24 hours before placement
 Concrete should be pre-heated to min.
28*C/82*F
 Measure litter temperature. Targets:
Furnace heaters: 32*C/90*F
Brooders: 40.5*C/105*F (directly under)
Watch Tubes/Quads:
Can be too hot and dehydrate chicks
 35.5 C

Can also be too hot during brooding

and drive chicks away from feed/water
 Poor brooding temps result in poor
performance
26.3 C
26.8 C
27.6 C

29.1 C

Feed temps 5 min

prior to chick placement
 34.6 C
32.0 C
Chick w/no feed
Chick w/feed

Chicks that do not get good feed

intake have lower core body temps
Research on feed intake and rectal body temperature
 Chicks that established feed intake in the first 24
hours after hatch had higher rectal temperatures
compared to chicks that had not eaten and these
chicks internal body temperature decreased less
when exposed to cold temperature stress at 2 and 3
days of age

 Chicks that developed feed intake in the first

24 hours had better resistance to cold stress
(Van Deb Brand, Molenaar, van der Star and Meijerhof)
 40 C
33.7 C
33.6 C

Good environment control starts before

the chicks arrive – proper prewarming
brood area
Picture courtesy of Dr. Mike Czarick – University of Georgia

Assure house tightness to

avoid cool air drafting chicks
 Temperature loss much easier
 The ratio of body surface to body mass is large in the day-old
chicken and it decreases with age so the young chick will
therefore lose heat at a faster rate than an adult bird.

 The young chicks body is covered in down which has a poor

insulating value so if temperature is not controlled it will lose
heat at a rapid rate through radiation and conduction.
Picture courtesy of Dr. Mike Czarick – University of Georgia

Results of improper ventilation

rates – day after day
Adverse performance effects
of high Ammonia
Microscopic view of Trachea and the Cilia
that line the Trachea – these are GOOD!!
Microscopic view of Trachea and the Cilia
that line the Trachea – these are BAD!!
 Results of improper ventilation causing high
levels of ammonia which burns the chicks eyes
Effects of High CO2 Level
 Will reduce activity
 Reduced feed/water
consumption
 Increased incidence of
dehydration
 Lower weight gain
 Increased incidence of
right ventricle failure-
later in life (Ascites)
 Carbon dioxide
 Carbon dioxide too high
 Chicks sitting – appear cold
 Creates lethargic chicks that do
not eat/drink as they should
4. Water Temperature – are we thinking about it
 Water Temperature
 Beker and Teeter (1994) found the
preferred water temperature of birds to
be around 10*C/50*F
 Water temperatures of 26.7*C/80.1*F
leads to significant reductions in water
consumption and daily weight gain.
 Water temperature above 25*C/77*F
should be avoided.

Flushing very important in hot weather (above 25*C/77*F)

or during the brooding process and temps are high from
heaters - Minimum three times/day
 9.4 C

Radiant heater brooding in U.S. –

incoming water source temperature
 19.8 C

Water supply line coming from source,

prior to nipple line regulators –
pipe along the ceiling
 16.8 C
18.1 C

Water temp at regulator end post

flushing
 32.3 C

Same nipple line: at end of line after

flushing for “assumed” enough time
Water temps in nipple 39.4 C
lines directly under or
near radiant brooder
– extremely warm

36.2 C
HatchTech has a hatchery system
called HatchCare
This system allows chicks access to feed/water
as soon as they hatch
Chicks drop into a basket from the egg where
feed/water are available
Quote from a HatchCare hatchery
in Canada
“Hey Chance. The water in hatch care flushes
every 19 minutes with 50 Fahrenheit water. We
flush our lines in all our barns 1 hour before
chick arrival so I totally agree with you. Even in
the first few days of placement it is good
practice to flush a couple times a day. You will
have to get down to see our hatchery when you
have time. Hope this helps.”
5. Measuring our results – where are we at 7 days
Looking at indicators that tell us if we
have done a good job the first 2 weeks
Rectal temps of chicks within the first few hrs of
placement
– Measures proper temperature management
Crop checks on chicks within the first 24 hrs
– Measures good feed and water intake
Day 0, 7 and 14 weights
– Measures overall management and performance
House and litter moisture
– Measures good ventilation practices
– Foot pad lesions
– Measures RH and water line management
Rectal Temps of Chicks
 Chick internal temp can be
measured by using a digital
thermometer placed gently
inside the Cloaca (Vent)
 Chick internal temp should
be maintained around
40.3*C/104.5*F the first 24
hrs
 As chicks digest feed and
begin to grow, internal
temps will increase to
normal temp of 41-42*
C/105.8-107.6*F
 Crop checks are easy way to measure
good feed intake

Good extended
crops are external
sign of good feed
intake first 24 hrs
Establish a program to evaluate feed intake
and measure our brooding management
Early weight gain association to final weight
 Measuring 0, 7 and 14 day weights
Weighing chicks at the hatchery is needed to
give us a starting weight to compare weekly
gains to
Measuring 7 day weights is a good indicator of
how successful our brooding management has
been
An extra 1g (.002lb) of bodyweight at 7 days
should yield 6g (.013lb) extra at 35 days
 Measuring 0, 7 and 14 day weights
The objective is to achieve at least 4.25 times
the hatch day weight at day 7
– Example: 43g chick at hatch should weigh 182.75g at day 7
14 day weights indicate how well we have done
in turning birds into full house if we half house
brood
14 day weights also indicate how well we have
done in transitioning from feed lids/paper to
strictly feed pans
Good ventilation also reflects in good
weight gains
Measuring house and litter moisture

Evaluate your litter conditions the first 14 days –

this is a true test on minimum ventilation
practices
Wet, caked litter along water/feed lines increase
foot pad lesions – pododermatitus
Walls wet with sweat and condensation indicate
under ventilation and/or improper door
opening/Static Pressure
 Litter quality affects chick temperature
and Paw quality
28.7 C
32.8 C

One toe on wet litter drastically

reduced the temperature
Foot pad lesion starting prior to 14
days
Making our house to be the
Mother Hen
Thank You