Poultry Production and Management
Poultry Production and Management tests incubation, brooding, housing, feeding and disease control for layers and broilers. You must know the difference between incubation and brooding, and between layer and broiler goals.
Core rules
- Chicken eggs hatch after about 21 days; duck eggs after about 28 days. Incubation temperature is about 37.5–37.8°C with moderate humidity.
- Brooding is the care of chicks after hatching. First-week brooder temperature is about 32–35°C, reduced by roughly 2–3°C each week.
- Layers are kept for egg production; broilers for rapid meat gain. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) = feed consumed ÷ weight gain; a lower FCR is better.
- Housing may be deep litter, cage or slatted. Good ventilation, dry litter, clean water and all-in/all-out management reduce disease.
- Vaccinate against Newcastle disease and other locally important diseases; control coccidiosis and maintain biosecurity.
Worked example
A broiler flock consumes 3,200 kg feed and gains 2,000 kg live weight. FCR = 3,200 ÷ 2,000 = 1.6. This means 1.6 kg feed produced 1 kg gain. If another flock has FCR 1.8, the first flock is more efficient, provided weight and health are comparable.
Traps
Do not confuse 21-day incubation with 21-day brooding. Do not prefer a higher FCR. Do not assume all eggs are fertile. Do not brood chicks at a single temperature for the whole period.