Poultry

Production
 Housing and Facilities

Benefits Of Housing
• Protection against inclement
weather
• Control of temperature, humidity
and ventilation
• Protection against predators
• Effective flock health program
Types of Housing
1. Slatted-floor
– Common for broiler raising
– Better ventilation
– Convenient waste handling
– Space between slats (2.5 to 3.8 cm or
1 to 1.5 in)
2. Litter-floor
– Rice hull, rice straw, wood shavings
3. Tunnel ventilated housing
House Features
• Construction materials
– Bamboo slats, nipa shingles, coco
lumber
– GI sheets, aluminum sheet, wood,
welded wire, plastic nets
• Shape
– Long and narrow with east-west
orientation
• Width
– 10 to 12 meters
House Features
• Height
– Floor height (1.8 m or 5.9 ft)
– Floor to ceiling (2.4 m or 8 ft)
• Roof style
– Shed type
– Gable type
– Combination (shed-gable)
– Monitor type
– Semi-monitor
 Shed Combination

Gable

Monitor Semi-monitor
House Features
• Floor Space
– Provide adequate floor space
allowance at all stages of production
– Floor space allowance
• Chicks - 1 m2 per 75-150 chicks under the
heat source and 1 m2 per 25-50 chicks
within the chick guard
• Growers – 0.07-0.11 m2 (0.8-1.2 ft2 ) per
bird
House Features
• Walls
– Open on all sides
– Slatted bamboo, poultry wire, welded
wire, nylon nets
– Windbreaks – canvas, sacks, empty
bags
• Farm location
– Good drainage and free from flooding
– Far from residential areas
– Good access to utilities
House Features
– Good access to road and market
– No security problems
– Adequate provision for expansion
 Brooding
• Brooding is the process of providing
supplemental heat to keep the brooder
temperature at 31.1 to 33.3°C for 24 h
from hatching up to the time that the
chicks have grown sufficient feathers to
control their own body temperature
• Takes about 2-3 weeks depending on the
season
 Elements of a Successful
Brooding
1. Good quality chicks
– Active, with dry , fluffy feathers,
bright eyes, well-healed navels
– Uniform size
2. Proper temperature
Age of Chicks Temp
1-7 d 32.2-35.0°C
8-14 d 29.4-32.2°C
14-21 d 26.7-29.4°C
 Elements of a Successful
Brooding
3. Adequate space allowance
– Feeding space ( 5-8 cm or 2-3.1 in
linear space/bird
4. Proper ventilation
5. Adequate sanitation
6. Adequate lighting facilities
7. Protection from predators
 Brooding
• Type of brooder
1. Battery-type brooder – composed of
compartment called tiers constructed
on top of another, each compartment
equipped with separate heater and
provisions for feeding and drinking
 Brooding

• Advantages
– More chicks raised/unit area
– Allows brooding different groups of chicks
– Less time required for brooding
– Less incidence of death due to crushing
 Brooding
• Type of brooder
2. Cage brooder- can be elevated slatted-
floor or litter-floor type with capacity
varying from few to several hundreds
• Advantages
– Facilitates brooding a large no. of chicks
– Requires less labor
 Brooding
• Advantages
– Renders convenient observing behavior of
chicks
– Eases movement of chicks to and away
from the heat source
– Minimized incidence of resp. diseases
– Provides wide area for exercise
• Heat source
– Electricity, LPG, kerosene gas, charcoal
 Brooding
• Chickguard
– Brooder guard can be any flexible materials
such as plain GI sheets, plywood, hard
cardboard, welded wire, plastic
• Feeders
• Drinkers
 Feeder

Waterer
 Criteria for assessing good quality chicks
• Newly hatched –( day-old)
• Healthy and active
• Weighing not less than 35 g
• Uniform in size
• Not dehydrated
• Free from abnormalities
 Criteria for assessing good quality chicks

• Free from gross lesions

– Omphalitis
– Overly enlarged abdomen
– Wet navels
– Vent pasting
– Any mechanical injury
 Prevention and control of cannibalism

• Cannibalism is a nasty behavior manifected by

pecking on others’ toes, tails, and feathers
• Causes:
– Overcrowding
– Poor ventilation
– Inadequate feeders and drinkers
– Inbalance or poor diet
 • Prevention of cannibalism
– Provide adequate floor space
– Provide proper ventilation
– Provide sufficient feeding and drinking spaces
– Give good quality feeds and balanced diet

Control of Cannibalism
• Isolate injured broilers
• Treat wounds with pine tar or anti-peck sol’n
• Beak trimming