Commercial Layer Farming

Preparation of House

Poultry hool>use sanitation begins with a clean sanitized house prepared well in advance of arrival of chicks. Each house should remain empty at least two weeks after, it is disinfected and fumigate. The effectiveness of sanitizing a house is depended upon the extend of the cleaning before the germicide is applied. This cleaning helps to control disease because,

1. It reduces number of pathogenic organisms.
2. Remove material that helps in multiplication of pathogens.
3. Expose surface to the disinfectant and fumigants.

The house should be cleaned and disinfected, immediate preparation is necessary so that the building may lie empty for one to two weeks prior to placing new chicks in them. Disinfection and fumigation will kill most of the disease-producing organisms. An empty house will break the life cycle of pathogens. This process reduces the chances of infection and if shed fenced around property it will save birds from predators. At least 80--100 feet away from other sheds with minimum traffic is suitable. There has been increasing numbers of objections from residence near poultry sites claim that they suffer nuisance to the quality of their lives but also causes ill health. Good ventilation and environmental conditions will greatly help in reducing smell. Good management of environment is best way to reduce complaint smell and manure.

1. Dry Cleaning
   The cleaning of house shall start from dry cleaning. In this, we use broomsticks to remove spider webs, dust and other dried organic matters from ceiling and walls. All the material will fall on the litter.
2. Removal of litter
   The cleaning of house shall start from removing the old litter from the poultry house. If it is piled near the house, rats and vermin may carry the residual disease back into the house. It is recommended to spray vermicide on litter before discarding it.
3. Removal of Equipments, disinfection and Repairing
   After removing the litter, all the removeable equipments installed in the house shall be removed from the house and placed outside from proper cleaning and disinfection. The manager shall repair the faulty equipments before next flock and disinfect them before use.
4. Wet Cleaning
   Wash the shed thoroughly with high pressure water (preferably hot). Start from ceiling, then walls and at the end wash the floor. In the next step, add detergent in the water and wash the complete house and equipments.
5. Disinfection of house
   After a thorough cleaning, the poultry house should be disinfected to kill all microbial organism. Choose a broad-spectrum disinfectant for proper cleaning. The dose rate shall be selected as per company standards. It is a good practice to give high contact time to disinfectant to increase its efficacy.
6. Clean the equipment
   Flush, wash, and disinfect all the equipments with high pressure water mixed with detergent and sanitizer.
7. White Washing
   After complete cleaning of the house, white wash the whole house. The Calcium hydroxide also act as antimicrobial agent and kills microbes.
8. Placing litter and equipments
   At the end, place the litter and all the equipments in the house and make it ready for receiving the chicks.
9. Fumigation
   After installing the equipments, fumigate the house with formaldehyde gas and seal the house for 48-72 hours for effective killing.

Transportation to the Farm

1. Use a truck designed for transportation of chicks from hatchery to farm.
2. Truck should be environmentally controlled, maintaining 26–29°C at 70% relative humidity (measured inside chick box); with a minimum air flow of 0.7 m3 per minute.
3. Provide space between stacks of chick boxes for air flow.

Brooding Management

1. Chick Placement
1. Unload boxes quickly and gently place chicks in brooding area.
2. Start chicks in upper tiered cages which are usually warmer and brighter. Ensure there are no shadows on drinkers (30–50 lux at the level of the nipple).
3. Establish proper house temperature of 32–35°C (air temperature measured at chick level) and 60% humidity 24 hours before chick placement.
4. Pre-heat brooding houses prior to chick placement: 24 hours in normal climates, 48 hours in cool climates and 72 hours in cold climates.
5. Fill automatic feed line to its highest level and adjust chick guards. Allow access to the automatic feeder from the first day.
6. Bright light (30–50 lux) for up to 21 days helps chicks quickly find feed and water and adapt to the new environment.
2. Brooding Management
1. Place feed on cage paper 0–3 days to encourage consumption.
2. Place feed in front of permanent feeder to train chicks to move toward feeders.
3. Remove paper at 7–14 days of age to avoid build-up of feces.
4. Use vitamins and electrolytes in chicks’ water (avoid sugar-based products to prevent growth of microorganisms).
5. Adjust brooding temperature according to relative humidity. Lower temperature should be used with higher relative humidity. For every 5 %-point increase above 60% relative humidity, reduce brooding temperatures by 1°C.
6. After the first week, reduce temperature weekly 2–3°C until reaching 21°C.
7. Do not give cold water to chicks. Be careful when flushing water lines for chicks. Allow water time to warm up in the house so chicks are comfortable drinking.

Standards to follow during brooding

	0-3 Days	4-7 Days	8-14 Days	15-21 Days	22-28 Days	29-35 Days	36-42 Days
Air Temperature Cage (°C)	32-33	30-32	28-30	26-28	23-26	21-23	21
Air Temperature Floor (°C)	33-35	31-33	29-31	27-29	24-27	22-24	21
Light Intensity (lux)	30-50	30-50	30-50	30-50	10-30	5-15	5-15
Light Hours	22 hours	21 hours	20 hours	19 hours	18 hours	17 hours	16 hours

Growth and Development Management

1. The best predictor of future laying performance is the pullet’s body weight and body type at the point of lay.
2. A pullet flock stimulated into egg production at the correct body weight (1230–1270 g) with uniformity higher than 90% performs best in the production period.
3. It is important to achieve 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30-week body weight targets to ensure optimum development of the bird’s body.
4. Manage feeding to achieve body weights 0–12 weeks in the upper range of the body weight standard. This will ensure good musculoskeletal and GIT development. Avoid high rates of body weight gains after 12 weeks to prevent excessive abdominal fat development.

Space Guidelines

Weeks of Age	0-3 Weeks	3-17 Weeks	17-80 Weeks
Floor Space	100-200 cm2 50-100 birds/m2	310 cm2 32 birds/ m2	490 – 750 cm2 20 – 13 birds/m2
Nipple Cup	1 for 12 birds	1 for 8 birds	1 for 12 birds
Feeder Space	5 cm / bird	8 cm/ bird	7-12 cm/ bird

Transfer to Laying House

1. The flock can be moved into the production facility at 15–16 weeks of age.
2.  It is ideal to administer the last inactivated vaccines at least one week prior to transfer.
3. It is important that rearing and production cages use similar feed and water systems, to minimize stress.
4. Supportive care to reduce stress, such as water-soluble vitamins, probiotics, vitamin C and increased dietary density, should be used 3 days before and 3 days after transfer.
5. Weigh prior to transfer and monitor weight loss during transfer. Birds can lose up to 113 g of body weight during transfer, but should recover this loss within one week.
6. Monitor flock water consumption frequently after transfer. Pre-transfer water consumption should be achieved within 6 hours after transfer to the laying house.
7. Brighten the lights for three days after transfer until birds settle in their new environment.

Table: Light Management (Dark out/ Environment Controlled Houses)

Age (weeks)	Total Light hours	Light intensity (lux)
0	21:00	30-50
1	20:00	30-50
2	19:00	25
3	18:00	25
4	17:00	5-15
5	16:00	5-15
6	15:15	5-15
7	14:45	5-15
8	14:15	5-15
9	13:45	5-15
10	13:15	5-15
11	12:45	5-15
12-14	12:00	5-15
15	12:00	20-25
16	12:00	20-25
17	13:00	20-25
18	13:15	30
19	13:30	30
20	13:45	30
21	14:00	30
22	14:15	30
23	14:30	30
24	14:45	30
25	15:00	30
26	15:15	30
27	15:30	30
28	15:45	30
29	16	30
30-end of life	16	30

Water Quality

1. Good quality water must be available to birds at all times.
2. Water and feed consumption are directly related—when birds drink less, they consume less feed and production quickly declines. As a general rule, healthy birds will consume 1.5–2.0 times more water than feed. This ratio increases in high ambient temperatures.
3. Test water quality at least 1 time per year. The water source will determine the regularity of water testing. – Surface water requires more frequent testing, as it is more affected by season and rainfall patterns. – Closed wells taking water from aquifers or deep artesian basins will be more consistent in water quality, but are generally higher in dissolved mineral content.
4. The presence of coliform bacteria is an indicator that the water source has been contaminated with animal or human waste.
5. Some water sources contain high levels of dissolved minerals such as calcium, sodium and magnesium. When this occurs, amounts of these minerals in water have to be considered when formulating feed.
6. Ideal water pH is 5–7 to promote good water sanitation, increase feed consumption and improve upper gastrointestinal health.
7. Less than optimum water quality can have a significant impact on intestinal health, which will lead to under utilization of nutrients in feed.
8. A decrease in flock water consumption is often the first sign of health problems and production drops.