Raising Birds from day old to 4 weeks (What you need to know)

 Raising Birds from day old to 4 weeks (What you need to know)

As a poultry farmer, one of the most challenging operations is brooding. Brooding in poultry means raising birds (broilers and layers) from the day they were hatched from the egg till they are at least four weeks of age. While doing this, the farmer has to be very careful so as to protect the chicks from the harsh environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity, infection, hunger, etc. In this post, we will try to guide a new poultry farmer on how to go about during the brooding stage of the birds' lives.

The first thing to do is ensure that you get your chicks from a trusted source. A professor I know once said that No matter how much you feed and take care of a bad flock of chicks, it cannot become good. Before the day the chicks are expected to arrive, clean the brooding house and fumigate it to remove any pathogens or insects that can cause harm to the chicks.

On the day of arrival, the space should be confined with boards (as in the first picture) and the brooding house should be warmed up to an optimum temperature (34°C to 36°C) so as to be able to receive the chicks. Cover the ground of the space where you will put them with paper and do your best to maintain the temperature throughout the first week of their lives. 

On arrival, the birds should be given an anti-stress in their water (glucagon or multivitamin) to help them recover from the stress of transit. Another operation that is carried out between the day of arrival and the third day is Newcastle Disease Vaccination (Hitchner B1 I.O), that is given in the eyes of the chicks. If there are many of them (up to 1000 chicks for example), it will be time consuming and labor intensive to get all the chicks vaccinated with eye drops, so using an aerosol spray will be easier.

Feeding is a very important part of brooding, and at this stage of the lives of the birds, feeding is ad libitum (as much as necessary). For broilers, they should be given broiler starter mash, and for layers, they should be given chick mash. These feeds were formulated to contain the right proportion of nutrients needed by the chicks at that period of their lives. Providing clean water is also a compulsory requirement.

Between day 10 and day 14, the birds should be vaccinated against Infectious Bursa Disease (Gumboro), the vaccine is given in the eyes or in drinking water. On day 21, the birds should be given Lasota (Newcastle disease vaccine) in drinking water or in the eyes. It is best to contact a trained veterinarian to determine the best dose of administration of the vaccine, so that you don't waste it. Lasota is meant to be repeated at around day 42.

During the brooding stage, always take care to maintain an optimum temperature. If the chicks are restless and breathe with their mouths open, it is too hot; if the chicks huddle in large groups around the heat source, it is too cold. Always take note of these changes so as to take action quickly. Also observe the chicks for any change in behavior, mortality, consistency of feces, etc. Make sure to report to a veterinary doctor when you notice anything off.