Broiler
It is a bird of about 8 weeks of age of either sex (straight-run chicks) with an average body weight of 1.5 to 2.0 kg with a flexible breast bone cartilage, pliable and tender meat.
Housing systems
Broilers can be housed on deep-litter, slatted or wire floor or cages. However, cage, slat and wire floor rearing of broilers are not as popular as litter floor rearing, due to problems like breast blisters, leg weakness and higher initial investment.
Rearing systems
The systems of rearing refer to either single batch at a time (all-in all-out system) or multiple batches of brooding and rearing of broilers.
All-in all-out system
Under all-in all-out system, the farm will have only one batch of broilers, belonging to the same hatch at any time. Sufficient chicks will be purchased to accommodate the entire farm capacity, reared and marketed in a single lot.
This system is more hygienic, lesser sub-clinical infections and horizontal spreading of diseases and thereby lesser mortality rate, better growth rate and improved feed efficiency. However, this system is not suitable for large scale farming and needs higher fixed and working capital per bird.
Multiple batch system
The multiple batch system consists of rearing of more than one batch of chicks at any time, with a batch interval of 1 to 4 weeks. Here, the farmer is buying day-old chicks and selling grown up broilers at weekly, fortnightly, once in three weeks or at monthly intervals. The chicks are reared for five to six weeks of age, or until they attain the desired body weight and sold for table.
The ideal system for India at present is having 5 to 6 batches of broilers at any time, with weekly interval between batches and “direct retail marketing”. Here, the birds will be marketed daily, from 40 to 54 days of age, based on their body weight, i.e. heavier birds will be sold earlier; giving a chance for weaker birds to have a compensatory growth.
Floor space, feeder space and waterer space
The floor space requirement of broilers varies depending on their body weight at the time of marketing, housing systems, marketing age and ambient temperature. The feeder and waterer space also varies depending on the environmental temperature and health condition of the birds. The following is the approximate floor, feeder and waterer space requirement for broilers.
Age |
Floor space/ bird |
Feeder space/ bird |
Waterer space / bird |
Up to 18 days |
450 cm2 |
3 cm |
1.5 cm |
From 19 days to 42 days |
1000 cm2 (1.1 sq.ft.) |
6-7 cm |
3 cm |
Brooding and rearing of broilers
It is similar to that for egg-type chicks.
Cage rearing of broilers
Broilers can also be reared on cages. Broiler cages are similar to that of grower cages. To prevent the breast blisters, the bottom of the cage may be coated with some plastic materials. The floor space requirement in cages is 50% of the floor space needed in deep-litter. The relative advantages and disadvantages of cage rearing of broilers are,
Advantages
Disadvantages
Feeding
Generally, three types of feed are offered to broilers from day-old to marketing.
0-2 Weeks – Broiler Pre-starter mash / crumble
3-4 Weeks – Broiler Starter mash
5-6 Weeks – Broiler Finisher mash
Lighting
In open sided broiler houses, the most commonly recommended lighting programme is 24 hours light during brooding period, followed by 23 hours light and one hour darkness per day, until marketing. This one hour darkness is to train the birds to acclimatize for darkness, in case of power failure, which may cause panic and trampling.
Vaccination schedule
S. No. |
Age |
Vaccine |
Route of administration |
1 |
First day |
Marek’s (at hatchery) |
S/C at neck |
2 |
5-7th day |
RDV F1 |
I/O or I/N |
3 |
14th day |
IBD Vaccine |
I/O or I/N |
4 |
21st day |
RDV La Sota |
Drinking water |
5 |
28th day |
IBD Vaccine (Booster) |
Drinking water |
Sex-separate rearing of broilers
The growth rate, floor space and the nutrient requirements of male and female broilers are not the same. Since the males grow faster than females, males need higher floor space and nutrients than female broilers. Due to these reasons, male and female broiler chicks are reared separately, in many countries, from day-old to disposal. Here, day-old broiler chicks are sexed by “feather sexing method” rather than by “vent-sexing”, as in the case of egg-type chicks. The sexed broiler chicks are brood and reared separately until marketing. Separate diets are provided for males and females. Male broilers require more protein, whereas the females require less energy and less protein.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Measures of performance efficiency in broilers
1. Livability
| Livability % | = |
Number of birds sold x 100 |
| Number of birds at the beginning |
Normal value is 97 to 98%
2. Feed Efficiency or Feed conversion ratio
| FCR | = |
Total quantity of feed consumed per bird in Kg |
| Mean body weight gain in Kg |
A value of 1.8 or lesser at 6 weeks of age is preferable.
3. Broiler Performance Efficiency Factor (BPEF)
| BPEF | = |
Live weight in kg x 100 |
| Feed efficiency |
Higher the value better will be the index. A value of 100 or more is desirable.
4. Broiler Farm Economy Index (BFEI)
| BFEI | = |
Average live weight (kg) x per cent livability |
| Feed efficiency x growing period (days) |
A BFEI value of 2.0 and above indicates better management of the farm and optimal performance of the birds; whereas a value less than 1.3 indicates poor performance of the flock.
Squab broilers
Very small broilers, weighing around 0.9 kg weight at around 28 days of age is called squab broilers. These are raised straight-run, processed, eviscerated and sold as fresh or frozen whole carcass.
1) Selection of birds
2) Training birds
The birds to be presented for show should confirm to the standard description for its breed and variety.
Select the bird early. At least one week before the show, place each show bird in a cage similar to the one used during poultry show. Handle each two to three times a day in a manner similar to that used during judging so that the birds get trained and do not get excited during the show. Do not expose the red coloured birds to direct sunlight for several hours because it will fade the plumage colour.
3) Washing the birds
When the plumage is soiled and dirty, it does not look good in show cages. The birds are washed with detergent solution (avoid the detergents which makes the feather brittle). If external parasites are present, birds may de dipped in 0.25 to 0.50 % Sevin solution.
A bird can be washed for 15 to 20 seconds and the bird should be placed in a drying cage and it gets dried in 20 to 30 minutes. The birds should be dried slowly for best results.
4) After washing
5) Transporting the birds
Transport the birds in a clean cage with straw or wood shavings as bedding material. Do not provide water since it will spill and spoil the bedding material. If the birds are to be transported to a long distance, water should be provided at intervals during transport.
6) Care of birds during show
Make sure that the birds are provided with plenty of feed and water during the show.
7) Care of birds after the show
After the show, the birds should be quarantined and should not be mixed with other birds in the farm immediately because it may transmit some diseases which has been acquired during the show from other birds. After 14 days of quarantine, they can be mixed with other farm birds.
